THOMAS    RITCHIE 


THOMAS   RITCHIE 


A   Study   in 


VIRGINIA   POLITICS 


BY 
CHARLES  HENRY  AMBLER,  PH.  D. 

AUTHOR  OF 

Sectionalism  in  Virginia,  1776  to  1861",  etc, 


3Ruf)tnonb,  13a. 

BELL  BOOK  &  STATIONERY  CO. 

1913 


COPYRIGHT  1913 

BY 

THE  BELL  BOOK  &  STATIONERY  Co. 

INCORPORATED 


._^x 


i 

9 


f 


PREFACE 

The  political  history  of  the  United  States  far  the  period 
of  its  inception,  infancy,  and  youth  can  be  found  in  the 
numerous  biographies  of  illustrious  Virginians.  Notwith 
standing  the  fact  that  many  Virginians  preferred  to  serve 
their  country  in  the  capacity  of  local  legislators  and  admin 
istrators,  others  gave  up  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  the  central 
government.  It  was  their  own  darling  child.  Historians 
have  written  the  names  of  those  who  took  the  latter 
course,  Washington,  Madison,  Jefferson,  Marshall,  Monroe, 
Randolph,  and  others  in  large  letters  in  the  annals  of 
the  republic  and  have  accorded  a  due  prestige  and  renown 
to  the  state  of  their  nativitv.  In  weaving  these  lives  into 
that  of  the  nation  they  have  forgotten,  however,  those  other 
illustrious  sons  who  remained  at  home  to  preserve  those  con 
ditions  which  made  possible  the  state's  greater  luminaries 
and  her  national  influence.  They  have  forgotten  also  that 
Virginia  continued  to  have  a  history  separate  and  distinct 
from  that  of  the  nation.  The  fact  that  there  is  no  written 
history  of  the  state  for  the  period  since  the  federal  govern 
ment  began  is  significant,  but  it  does  not  mean  that  there 
were  no  events  worth  recording  or  that  she  gave  all  her 
talents  and  genius  to  the  common  country. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  brief  biography  to  rescue 
her  second  sons  from  oblivion  or  to  give  a  comprehensive 
political  history  of  the  state,  as  its  sub-title  might  suggest. 
These  commendable  undertakings  would  necessitate  the  writ 
ing  of  volumes  similar  to  Hammond's  and  Alexander's  His 
tories  of  Political  Parties  in  New  York  and  to  the  numerous 
lives  of  our  national  heroes.  A  humble  effort  will  be  made 
to  render  tardy  recognition  to  one  of  her  lesser  lights  who 
devoted  practically  the  whole  of  a  long,  tempestuous,  and 
eventful  life  to  maintaining  the  ascendency  of  Virginia 
among  the  states  and  to  making  possible  the  national  careers 


PREFACE.  vii 

of  her  more  illustrious  sons.  As  he  taught  his  people  "to 
think  his  own  thoughts,  to  speak  his  own  words,  to  weep 
when  he  wept,  to  wreathe  their  faces  with  his  smiles,  and 
above  all  to  vote  as  he  voted/'  this  biography  will  of  necessity 
deal  largely  with  local  political  conditions  and  happenings. 
But  the  life  of  that  man  who  did  more  than  any  other 
to  keep  both  Clay  and  Calhoun  from  the  presidency  cannot 
be  told  separate  and  apart  from  the  history  of  the  federal 
government.  Chief  emphasis  will,  however,  be  placed  upon 
local  conditions  and  events,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  brevity 
in  reference  to  national  events  and  conditions,  necessitated 
by  a  lack  of  space,  will  not  add  greatly  to  the  other  difficulties 
which  may  be  encountered  in  reading  these  pages. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  biography  I  have  been  greatly 
aided  by  the  authorities  of  the  Virginia  State  Library  and 
the  Library  of  Congress.  I  have  also  received  assistance  from 
Dr.  W.  C.  Hives  of  Washington,  P.  C.,  Miss  Mary  Campbell 
of  Dunnsville,  Va.,  Mrs.  George  E.  Harrison  of  Brandon, 
Va.,  Miss  Margaret  Ritchie  Harrison  of  Washington,  I).  C., 
Mrs.  M.  W.  Simmons  of  Younge's  Island,  S.  C.,  Professor 
W.  E.  Dodd  of  Chicago  University,  and  numerous  other 
persons,  to  each  of  whom  I  gladly  make  a  hearty  acknowl 
edgement.  Through  the  kindness  of  the  libraries  I  have  beon 
able  to  secure  access  to  the  files  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer 
for  the  forty-one  years  during  which  Thomas  Ritchie  was  its 
editor  and  to  the  Washington  Union  for  the  seven  years  he 
edited  it  and  the  use  of  other  valuable  sources,  such  as  the 
Jackson,  Van  Buren,  Stevenson,  and  Polk  manuscripts  in 
the  Library  of  Congress  and  the  public  archives  in  the  State 
Library  of  Virginia.  Individuals  have  aided  me  by  their 
helpful  suggestions  and  by  placing  at  my  command  manu 
scripts  and  other  source  material  now  inaccessible  to  the 
public. 

CHAS.  H.  AMBLKU. 

Ashland,  Virginia,  May,  1913. 


en 


TO 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  The  Beginnings       .         .  9 

II.  The   Peace  Regime  25 

III.  Nationalism  and  Particularism         .  53 

IV.  President    Making  85 
V.  Reform  and  Nullification         ...  118 

VI.  Jackson   and  the  Whigs                    .  155 

VII.  Van  Buren  and  the  Independent  Treasury  .                             187 

VIII.  Tyler    and    Texas            .                    .  .                              219 

IX.  The  National  Spokesman  246 

X.  The    Great   Compromise                     .  273 

XI.  The  Editor  and  the  Man  .                   290 

Appendix  .  .  .  Genealogy         ......         301 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Thomas  Ritchie  .         .          .          .          .          .          .              Frontispiece 

Thomas    Ritchie's  Birthplace           ......           12 

Spencer  Roane  ... 

Lower  Brandon  .........          276 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE  BEGINNINGS. 

Thomas  Ritchie  was  born  on  November  5,  17781,  in  the 
only  brick  residence  then  in  Tappahannock,  Virginia. 
To-day  this  house  may  be  seen  on  the  main  thoroughfare  of 
that  town  and  is  used  as  a  residence  and  a  butcher-shop. 
Though  located  near  other  fine  residences,  notably  the  Parker 
house,  the  Anderton  house,  and  the  Brockenbrough  house, 
the  superior  quality  of  the  Ritchie  residence  marked  its 
owner,  Archibald  Ritchie,  as  the  chief  business  man  of  his 
community. 

Archibald  Ritchie,  the  first  of  his  family  in  America,  was 
a  Scotchman  who  emigrated  to  this  country  to  engage  in  the 
mercantile  business.  The  year  of  his  arrival  is  not  known, 
but  he  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  affairs  from  the  begin 
ning  and  to  have  found  a  place  in  the  best  social  circles  of 
Virginia.  Under  date  of  August  21,  1753,  Francis  Jerdone 
wrote,  "Last  week  Mr.  Archd  Ritchie  was  married  to  a 
daughter  of  Capt.  Roane,  with  whom  he  gets  £500  down,  and 
as  much  at  her  father's  death."1  Already  he  was  a  large 
exporting  and  importing  merchant,  exchanging  articles  of 
foreign  manufacture  for  the  corn,  wheat,  and  tobacco  pro 
duced  in  a  large  part  of  the  Rappahannock  valley  and  thus 
scattering  industry  and  prosperity  throughout  Essex  and  the 
surrounding  counties.  He  also  owned  negro  slaves  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  sell  a  "likely  negro"  to  replenish  the  family 
exchequer.  The  records  show  that  he  left  a  considerable 
fortune  to  his  wife  and  children. 

Years  after  Archibald  Ritchie's  death  and  after  one  of 
his  sons  had  lost  his  life  in  the  defence  of  his  country  and 
another  had  seen  gallant  service  in  the  same  cause,  John 

i  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly,  XL,  240. 


10  'THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Floyd  and  John  Hampden  Pleasants,  for  political  purposes, 
accused  Thomas  Ritchie  of  being  the  "son  of  a  Scotch  Tory." 
Their  accusation  seems  to  Jiave  been  founded  upon  the  fact 
that  Archibald  Ritchie  violated  the  Association  of  1774, 
entered  into  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  British  goods  into 
Virginia,  and  incurred  the  enmity  of  Richard  Henry  Lee 
who  had  raised  a  mob  in  1766  to  destroy  his  business,  after 
he  himself  had  mysteriously  seen  the  light  of  a  new  day.2 
That  Archibald  Ritchie  was  among  the  last  to  break  away 
from  the  mother  country  is  probably  true.  He  was  a  Scotch 
man  and  moved  with  all  the  conservatism  of  his  kinsmen. 
Besides  few  of  those  interested  in  commerce  were  anxious 
for  war.  In  many  instances  it  involved  the  loss  of  their 
own  and  their  neighbors'  fortunes.  But  there  is  no  evidence 
that  he  opposed  the  cause  of  the  patriots  after  war  had  been 
declared.  In  fact,  the  evidence  points  to  the  opposite  con 
clusion.  In  1776  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly 
a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  of  Essex 
county,  and  at  a  later  date  he  supplied  Colonel  Landoii 
Carter  with  gunpowder  with  which  to  fight  the  British.3 
Tradition  has  it  that  his  wife  commanded  him  to  stand  behind 
her  while  she  got  at  a  party  of  British  pillagers  with  the 
butcher  knife,  but  it  is  not  certain  that  he  obeyed  even  this 
authority. 

Like  many  another  man  of  distinction,  Thomas  Ritchie 
owed  much,  if  not  most,  of  his  success  to  his  mother.  To 
that  conservatism  and  interest  in  worldly  affairs,  which  he 
inherited  from  his  father,  she  added  a  taste  for  letters  and 
for  society,  all  of  which  later  contributed  to  make  her  son 
an  influential  and  efficient  public  servant.  These  sterling 
natural  qualties  were  not,  however,  the  least  of  the  maternal 
gifts.  She  supplied  an  environment  for  the  development  of 
the  tastes  which  she  gave.  Among  her  relatives  and  con 
nections  were  some  of  the  ripest  scholars,  the  profoundest 
thinkers,  and  the  most  upright  and  honest  men  and  women 

2  William  and  Mary  College  Quarterly,  II.,  238. 
8  Ibid.,  V.,  254;   Ibid.,  XVI.,  266. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  11 

to  be  found  in  Virginia.  She  herself  was  a  Roane,  whose 
family  had  either  intermarried  with  or  was  on  most  intimate 
terms  with  the  Brockenbroughs,  the  Rufn'ns,  the  Brookes,  the 
Parkers,  and  the  Latanes,  representatives  of  a  younger  genera 
tion  which  in  due  time  formed  an  "Essex  Junto"  that  vir 
tually  governed  Virginia  through  its  power  to  control  her 
courts,  legislatures,  and  financial  policies.  Unlike  the  planters 
who  surrounded  them  on  all  sides,  they  were  progressives. 
Among  them  were  patriots  of  the  revolution  and  ambitious 
youths.  From  the  lips  of  the  former  young  Ritchie  caught 
that  spirit  which  had  revolutionized  America  and  Europe, 
and  from  his  younger  associates  he  caught  a  vision  of  the 
future  greatness  of  the  nation  and  the  part  his  native  state 
was  to  play  in  it.  — *% 

Besides,  from  another  standpoint,  it  meant  something  I 
in  Ritchie's  day  to  be  born  in  old  Tappahannock.  It  was  \ 
located  fifty  miles  from  the  Chesapeake  upon  a  bluff  over 
looking  a  broad  expanse  of  the  Rappahannock  river,  and  was 
then,  as  it  now  is,  one  of  those  modest  and  retiring  towns 
which  hides  itself  from  the  world  under  the  dense  foliage 
of  its  large  and  beautiful  trees.  A  century  ago  it  was  a  port 
of  entry  for  all  the  surrounding  country.  Hence  there  went 
to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world  trading  ships  which  sup 
plied  material  wants  and  brought  daily  suggestions  of  the 
dependence  of  man  upon  man  and  of  nation  upon  nation. 
In  this  small  village,  as  in  few  others  of  colonial  Virginia, 
there  intermingled  the  best  in  the  plantation  life  with  the 
energy,  initiative,  and  sagacity  of  the  Scotch  tradesmen. 
The  product  of  this  single  local  environment  in  time  reshaped  I 
the  character  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

Thomas  Ritchie's  father  died  when  he  was  only  six  years 
old,  and  the  responsibility  for  his  education  and  rearing  fell 
consequently  to  his  mother  and  her  family.  She  planned  first 
to  put  him  to  the  law  under  the  guidance  of  his  distinguished 
cousin,  Spencer  Roane,  who  later  became  head  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  of  Virginia  and  Jefferson's  first  choice  for  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  and  for 
his  own  successor  in  the  presidency.  A  short  apprenticeship 


12  THOMAS  EITCHIE  •. 

sufficed  to  convince  young  Ritchie  that  he  had  neither  talents 
nor  tastes  for  distinction  in  the  field  of  his  distinguished 
kinsman.  Consequently  he  turned  to  the  study  of  medicine, 
but  a  short  course  of  lectures  at  Philadelphia  convinced  him 
that  this  profession,  was  even  more  distasteful  than  the  law. 
Reversing  the  practice  of  the  present  day,  which  makes  teach 
ing  a  stepping  stone  to  the  other  professions,  he  then  became 
a  pedagogue.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  took  charge  of  an 
academy  at  Fredericksburg  and  improved  the  opportunities 
which  this  position  afforded  to  make  deeper  and  broader  his 
knowledge  of  the  classics  and  the  best  modern  authors. 

Ritchie  regarded  the  teaching  profession  as  one  of  the 
most  honorable  and  respectable.  He  was  imbued  with  the 
idea  that  the  superstructure  of  wisdom  and  virtue  in  a 
republic  is  the  architecture  of  its  schoolmasters.  Moreover, 
he  opposed  confining  the  benefits  of  education  to  men  and, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  his  career,  made  an  honest  plea 
for  greater  opportunities  for  women.  In  defence  of  this  plea 
he  pointed  to  the  constellation  of  feminine  genius  which  had 
arisen  in  Europe:  the  Edgeworths,  the  Macaulays,  the  de 
Genlis  and  the  de  Staels.  Henceforth  he  lost  no  opportunity 
to  promote  the  cause  of  public  free  instruction  in  Virginia. 
Such  an  enthusiast  naturally  endeared  himself  to  his  students 
and  to  their  parents.  Had  he  been  permitted  to  follow  the 
path  of  his  inclination,  as  did  his  great  contemporary,  Horace 
Mann,  the  history  of  popular  education  in  the  South  might 
to-day  be  written  differently.  As  will  be  shown  later,  his 
ideas  on  educational  problems  were  modern  and  none  doubted 
that  he  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  But  ill  health 
would  not  permit  his  remaining  in  the  teaching  profession, 
and  he  sought  more  agreeable  employment  in  Richmond  as 
the  owner  and  proprietor  of  a  small  book-store. 

When  Ritchie  came  to  Richmond  in  1803  he  cast  his  lot 
with  a  people  through  whom  he  was  in  time  to  influence  the 
whole  commonwealth  and  indirectly  the  whole  nation.  As  if 
by  fate  his  tastes  and  training  had  fitted  him  for  a  large  and 
important  place  in  this  metropolis.  Consequently  a  passing 
notice  of  Richmond,  as  it  was  one  hundred  years  ago,  might 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  13 

contribute  much  to  a  proper  understanding  of  his  subsequent 
life  and  services. 

Of  industrial  Richmond  the  Duke  de  La  Rochefoucauld- 
Liancourt  wrote  in  1796  as  follows:  "At  present  there  are 
few  wooden  houses  at  Richmond.  The  trade  of  this  town 
consists  in  the  purchase  of  the  country  products,  and  in  sell 
ing  at  second  hand  the  articles  of  domestic  consumption, 
which  are  generally  produced  in  England.  The  number  of 
merchants  who  carry  on  a  direct  commerce  with  Europe  is 
inconsiderable.  They  keep  their  ships  at  Norfolk,  and  send 
down  the  produce  of  the  country  in  small  vessels.  The  com 
mission  trade  may  be  considered  as  the  real  business  of  the 
place.  It  is  from  the  merchants  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg 
that  those  of  Norfolk  most  commonly  purchase  the  grain, 
flour  and  tobacco  which  is  later  exported.  The  country  pro 
duce  is  paid  for  by  the  merchants  in  ready  money  or  on  short 
credit:  they  even  frequently  obtain  it  on  cheaper  terms  by 
furnishing  the  planters  with  an  advance  of  money  on  their 
crops.  The  Richmond  merchants  supply  all  the  stores 
through  an  extensive  tract  of  back  country.  As  they  have 
a  very  long  credit  from  England,  they  can  allow  a  similar 
indulgence  of  six,  nine  or  twelve  months  to  the  shop  keepers 
whom  they  supply.  All  the  merchants  deal  in  bills  of 
exchange  on  Europe. 

"The  falls  of  the  James  which  obstructed  its  navigation 
from  the  distance  of  seven  miles  above  Richmond,  hitherto 
imposed  the  necessity  of  employing  land  carriage  for  that 
space.  At  present  a  canal,  running  parallel  with  the  course 
of  the  river  for  those  seven  miles,  connects  the  communica 
tion  by  water,  and  opens  a  navigation  which  extends  with 
out  interruption  200  miles  above  Richmond.  I  have  seen 
one  of  the  two  mills  at  Richmond.  It  stands  below  the  falls 
of  the  river,  receives  a  great  power  of  water,  and  turns  six 
pair  of  stones.  It  is  a  fine  mill,  and  unites  the  advantages  of 
all  the  new  inventions;  the  cogs  of  the  wheels  are  clumsily 
executed.  It  costs  a  yearly  rent  of  near  $6,000  to  Mon 
sieur  Chevalier,  a  Frenchman  from  Rockefort,  hitherto 
director  of  the  French  paquets  to  America,  and  now  settled  in 


14  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Virginia.  Flour  mills  are  more  numerous  at  Petersburg  than 
at  Richmond,  and  the  mills  there  are  also  upon  a  good  con 
struction.  The  exportations  of  Petersburg  are  more  con 
siderable  than  those  of  Richmond,  although  generally  speak 
ing,  the  produce  it  receives  is  inferior  in  quality.  Tobacco, 
for  instance,  which  sells  at  Richmond  for  $6  or  $7  per  hun 
dred  weight,  does  not  fetch  quite  $5  at  Petersburg.  City 
Point  or  Bermuda  Hundred,  is  the  spot  where  the  custom 
house  is  established  for  these  two  places." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  industrially  and  commercially 
Richmond  was  then  the  clearing  house  of  the  surrounding 
country  which  was  then  tilled  by  thousands  of  negro  slaves, 
the  "happy  wards"  of  the  most  indulgent  masters  that  ever 
lived.  The  James  was  the  main  thoroughfare  ato  town,"  but 
all  roads,  however  insignificant  led  to  Richmond.  The  brick 
row  on  lower  Main  Street  was  not  then  opulent  enough  to 
call  forth  the  scorn  of  the  country  folk  who  could  find 
hospitable  treatment  and  comfortable  lodging  at  the  Bird  in 
the  Hand,  the  City  Tavern,  or  the  Union  Hotel.  Meanwhile 
they  could  enjoy  a  concert  of  the  Musical  Society  at  Tanbark 
Hall,  witness  a  play  at  the  theater,  invest  their  savings  in 
lottery  tickets,  or  read  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer  and  the 
Gazette. 

Richmond  was  more  than  a  mere  industrial  and  commer 
cial  center.  It  was  also  the  social  and  intellectual  clearing 
house  of  a  plantation  aristocracy  with  ample  leisure  to  drink 
deeply  at  the  fountains  of  learning  and  culture.  In  April, 
1791,  when  on  his  fourth  visit  to  this  country,  Dr.  Thomas 
Coke  preached  "in  the  Capitol  where  the  Assembly  sits,  to 
the  most  dressy  congregation"  he  had  ever  seen  in  America, 
and  it  gave  "great  attention."  There  was  then  no  other  place 
of  considerable  area  in  the  United  States  where  copies  of 
the  standard  authors,  both  classic  and  modern,  could  be 
found  in  large  numbers  in  the  private  libraries  of  its  rural 
population.  Many  Virginia  planters  could  then  read  and 
speak  Latin  and  French  and  rivaled  the  English  squires  in 
their  knowledge  of  history  and  jurisprudence.  Since  1779, 
when  Richmond  became  the  capital,  the  annual  sessions  of 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  15 

the  General  Assembly,  which  usually  extended  from  the  first 
of  December  to  the  first  of  March,  marked  the  height  of 
the  social  season.  Thither  came  the  great  planters  and  the 
political  solons  with  their  wives  and  daughters  to  aid  Cupid 
in  those  amorous  delights  which  have  made  one  great  family 
of  all  Virginians.  If  three  months  did  not  suffice  to  complete 
the  match-making  and  the  case  seemed  urgent,  the  interested 
parties  usually  repaired  to  the  springs  for  the  summer  season. 

Although  it  is  to-day  one  of  the  many  cities  of  seven  hills, 
Richmond  of  a  century  ago  was  confined  mainly  to  three, 
namely:  Gamble's  Hill,  Shockoe  Hill,  and  Church  Hill. 
Each  had  its  own  social  circle  which  knew  no  bounds  on  great 
occasions  and  when  Cupid  came  to  town.  The  first  named 
hill  overlooks  the  islets  in  the  falls  of  the  James.  The  social 
life  there  centered  in  the  "Grey  House,"  built  by  Colonel 
John  Harvie  and  purchased  after  his  death  by  Major  Robert 
Gamble.  Elizabeth  and  Agnes  Bell,  his  daughters,  became 
the  wives  of  William  Wirt,  later  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States  and  candidate  for  the  presidency,  and  William 
H.  Cabell,  later  governor  of  Virginia.  During  the  period  of 
Ritchie's  early  days  in  Richmond  the  two  families,  each 
with  several  children,  occupied  the  Grey  House  jointly. 
Here  William  Wirt  wrote  his  "Letters  of  the  British  Spy," 
and  hence  went  forth  the  wives  of  many  influential  men  and 
the  progenitors  of  such  distinguished  sons  as  James  Branch 
Cabell,  the  novelist. 

Shockoe  Hill  was  adorne'd  by  the  Capitol  building  and 
was  the  chief  residential  district.  The  social  life  of  this 
area  centered  in  the  palatial  residence  of  Dr.  John  Brocken- 
brough,  which  was  erected  in  1818,  later  used  as  the  White 
House  of  the  Confederacy,  and  the  Confederate  Museum. 
In  the  heyday  of  Jacksonian  Democracy  it  was  the  rendezvous 
of  the  Richmond  Junto.  Here  the  Randolphs  and  the 
Harrisons  were  entertained  when  in  the  city,  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough  having  married  Gabriella  Harvie  Randolph  and 
being  on  most  intimate  terms  with  the  Harrisons.  A  recep 
tion  at  the  Brockenbrough  mansion  was  one  of  the  highest 
distinctions  that  could  be  extended  a  stranger  when  visiting 


16  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

Richmond.  The  neighborhood  was  unsurpassed.  In  full 
view  were  the  homes  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall  and  his  father- 
in-law,  Jacqueline  Ambler;  Colonel  John  Harvie  of  Revolu 
tionary  fame  lived  near;  on  Clay  street,  near  Eleventh,  lived 
Colonel  Edward  Carrington,  also  a  distinguished  soldier; 
and  nearly  opposite  his  residence  were  the  homes  of  Lewis 
Burwell  and  Major  John  Ambler.  This  same  section 
included  among  its  residents  Judge  Philip  N".  Nicholas, 
Dr.  James  B.  McClurg,  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  Alex 
ander  McRea,  Conway  Robinson,  Thomas  Ritchie,  and  Bishop 
Moore.  Many  a  young  girl  was  given  in  marriage  in  the 
Brockenbrough  mansion  with  Bishop  Moore,  of  the  Diocese 
of  Virginia,  officiating.  On  such  occasions  Chief  Justice 
Marshall,  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  Benj.  W.  Leigh,  Thomas 
Ritchie,  and  other  distinguished  men  of  the  vicinity  were 
usually  recorded  as  among  the  guests. 

Just  opposite  Shockoe  Hill  and  connected  with  it  by  a 
heavily  built  wooden  bridge  was  Church  Hill.  Since  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  had  been  owned  by 
Colonel  Richard  Adams  who  seems  to  have  been  a  prosper 
ous  man  of  affairs.  He  always  claimed  that  his  purchase 
contract  with  William  Byrd  was  made  with  the  understand 
ing  that  the  Capitol  building  was  to  be  erected  on  his  lands. 
The  failure  of  Thomas  Jefferson  to  respect  this  private 
arrangement  caused  a  complete  estrangement  between  him 
self  and  the  Adamses,  which  later  became  a  source  of  poli 
tical  annoyance  to  the  former.  The  social  life  of  Church  Hill 
centered  in  the  Adams  mansion,  which  was  erected  in  1799 
by  Dr.  John  Adams  when  he  married  Geddes  Winston  of 
Hanover  county.  In  its  lofty  ceilings,  spacious  drawing 
rooms,  library,  and  bed  chambers,  and  its  colonial  archi 
tecture  it  rivaled  the  Brockenbrough  house,  which  stood  upon 
the  opposite  hill.  In  other  lines  that  rivalry  continued  even 
into  the  period  of  war.  When  the  latter  became  the  White 
House  of  the  Confederacy,  the  former  was  the  home  of  an 
influential  abolitionist  and  northern  spy,  Elizabeth  Van  Lew. 
In  Ritchie's  early  days  Governor  George  William  Smith,  who 
lost  his  life  in  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  Richmond 
Theater  in  1811,  was  a  member  of  the  Adams  household. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  17 

Politics  rarely  marred  the  social  circles  of  Richmond. 
They  were  not  half  so  disturbing  an  element  as  the  "loo 
mania,"  which  raged  in  1806  and  caused  the  ladies  of  the 
first  families  to  lose  their  pin  money  and  their  tempers. 
(Although  they  had  met  meanwhile  on  scores  of  occasions 
and  were  members  of  the  same  social  clubs,  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  and  Thomas  Ritchie  never  engaged  in  a  political 
discussion  before  1820.  The  leaders  did  not  hesitate  to 
attack  each  other  through  the  columns  of  the  press  and  upon 
the  hustings,  but  all  was  forgotten  when  they  approached 
a  cornmon  punch-bowLJ  True,  there  was  much  greater 
unanimity  of  political  opinion  in  Richmond  than  might  be 
suspected.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  Federalist  stronghold.  A  review 
of  the  names  already  given  will  disclose  the  fact  that  her 
leading  citizens  were  either  soldiers  or  officers  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  Army.  These  were,  for  the  most  part,  loyal  to 
Washington  and  Hamilton  in  their  efforts  to  establish  a 
strong  central  government.  Thus  silence  may  have  been  the 
better  part  of  discretion  on  the  part  of  the  young  Republican 
interlopers,  who,  like  Brockenbrough  and  Ritchie,  had  come 
to  Richmond  to  seek  their  fortunes. 

Despite  their  boasted  democratic  principles  and  equal 
rights,  the  aristocrats  of  Richmond  in  18100,  as  in  1900, 
were  ever  ready  to  pay  obeisance  and  court  to  royalty  and  to 
rank.  They  received  such  recognition  from  those  beneath 
them  in  their  social  and  political  castes.  Why  not  pay  them 
to  others  ?  Reluctant  to  concede  these  traits  of  the  body 
politic  Republicans  attributed  them  to  a  desire  on  the  part 
of  the  Federalists  for  monarchy.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Federalists  saw  in  them  only  an  expression  of  Virginia's  far- 
famed  hospitality.  But  Wirt  observed  in  his  "British  Spy" 
that  "notwithstanding  all  this,  it  was  easy  to  discern  in  the 
look,  the  voice  and  the  whole  manner,  with  which  gentlemen 
as  well  as  ladies  of  both  parties  saluted  and  accosted  young 

(the  son  of  an  English  lord)  a  secret  spirit  of 

respectful  diffidence,  a  species  of  silent,  reverential  abase 
ment,  which,  as  it  could  not  have  been  excited  by  his  personal 
qualities,  must  have  been  homage  to  his  rank."4 

*  Wirt,  The  Letters  of  a  British  Spy,  14. 


18  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

As  in  the  present  day,  inequalities  in  property  had  pro 
duced  their  corresponding  social  and  political  inequalities 
which  penetrated  every  phase  of  life  and  entered  into  the 
political  contests  between  the  geographic  sections,  notably 
that  between  the  cis-montane  and  the  trans-montane  counties. 
On  this  subject  the  "British  Spy"  also  observed  that,  "how 
ever,  they  may  vaunt  of  equal  liberty  in  church  and  state, 
they  have  but  little  to  boast  on  the  subject  of  equal 
property.  Indeed  there  is  no  country,"  said  he,  "where 
property  is  more  unequally  distributed  than  in  Virginia. 
This  inequality  struck  me  with  'peculiar  force  in  riding 
through  the  lower  counties  on  the  Potomac.  Here  and  there 
a  stately  aristocratic  palace,  with  all  its  appurtenances, 
strikes  the  view :  while  all  around,  for  many  miles,  no  other 
buildings  are  to  be  seen  but  the  little  smoky  huts  and  log 
cabins  of  poor,  laborious,  ignorant  tenants.  And  what  is 
very  ridiculous,  these  tenants,  while  they  approach  Hie  great 
house,  cap  in  hand,  with  all  the  fearful  trembling  submission 
of  the  lowest  feudal  vassals,  boast  in  their  court-yards,  with 
obstreperous  exultation,  that  they  live  in  a  land  of  freemen, 
a  land  of  equal  liberty  and  equal  rights."  Need  one  go 
farther  for  an  answer  to  the  question  now  frequently  asked, 
"Why  did  the  poor  non-slaveholders  follow  their  leaders  into 
secession  ?" 

Engrafted  as  it  had  been  upon  these  sterile  beds  of 
Federalism  and  surrounded  here  and  there  by  the  thorns  and 
rocks  of  self-interest  and  tradition,  the  democratic  revolu 
tion  of  1800  was  in  grave  danger  of  meeting  a  premature 
death  in  Virginia.  For  lack  of  support  the  mouthpiece  of 
the  reform  party,  the  Examiner,  under  the  editorship  of 
Skelton  Jones  of  dueling  fame,  had  gone  down  to  a  natural 
death,  and  the  office  where  it  had  been  published  had  been 
consumed  in  flames.  Henry,  who  had  himself  become  a 
Federalist  was  dead,  and  Jefferson,  Madison,  Giles,  and 
Randolph  were  devoting  their  energies  and  talents  to  the 
federal  councils.  Under  these  conditions  Jefferson,  who  had 
every  reason  for  keeping  Virginia  true  to  the  teachings  of 
republicanism,  appealed  to  the  young  book-seller,  Thomas 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  19 

Ritchie,  as  a  proper  person  to  watch  the  vestal  fires  in  her 
state  capital.  As  yet  Ritchie  had  made  no  entangling  alli 
ances  with  the  aristocrats ;  he  was  fitted  by  nature,  training, 
and  previous  association  for  such  a  calling;  and  he  had  a 
number  of  promising  friends  and  connections  among  the 
younger  generation.  Accordingly,  the  Richmond  Enquirer 
arose  Phoenix-like  from  the  ashes  of  the  Examiner,  and  in 
its  resurrection  Ritchie  found  a  life  work.  The  first  office 
of  the  Enquirer  was  to  echo  and  to  re-echo  the  utterances 
of  the  National  Intelligencer  and  the  thoughts  of  the  federal 
administration  until  they  became  the  utterances  and  the 
thoughts  of  the  common  people.  Meanwhile  the  power  and 
influence  of  the  Gazette,  the  Federalist  organ,  was  to  be 
crippled. 

The  first  copy  of  the  Enquirer  appeared  on  May  9,  18*04. 
It  was  announced  to  appear  bi-weekly,  but  supplementary 
half-sheets  were  promised  for  the  weeks  covering  the  ses 
sions  of  Congress  and  the  General  Assembly.  The  price 
of  subscription  was  four  dollars  per  annum,  in  advance, 
which  was  soon  raised  to  five  dollars.  Advertising  space 
was  sold  to  non-subscribers  at  seventy-five  cents  per  usquare 
in  length"  for  the  first  insertion,  fifty  cents  for  each  of  three 
subsequent  insertions,  and  thirty-three  cents  for  each  addi 
tional  insertion,  "long  ones  in  the  same  proportion."  Rates 
to  subscribers  were  fifty  for  the  first  insertion  and  thirty-three 
for  each  subsequent  one.  Little  attention,  however,  was 
paid  to  advertising.  The  Enquirer  was  to  be  maintained  by 
official  patronage  and  by  subscriptions,  which  were  raised 
during  the  first  eighteen  months  from  five  hundred  to  fifteen 
hundred. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  Enquirer  fell  under  the 
influence  of  party  patronage.  The  initial  number  contained 
certified  copies  of  federal  laws  and  extracts  from  speeches 
made  on  the  anniversary  of  Jefferson's  election  to  the  presi 
dency.  Without  official  patronage  it  could  not  have  lived  in 
so  strong  a  Federalist  atmosphere  as  Richmond  and  in  com 
petition  with  a  well  established  and  popular  press.  From  the 
first  Ritchie  did  not  disguise  his  purpose  to  speak  for  the 


20  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

administration  and  his  expectation  of  compensation  for 
such  service.  On  the  other  hand,  he  did  not  propose  to 
become  a  political  vassal.  "Principle  not  men'7  was  to 
be  his  motto,  and  he  boldly  announced  his  purpose  to  sail  the 
turbid  political  stream  alone  with  the  constitution  for  his 
compass  and  the  Union  for  his  chart. 

The  disavowals  of  any  temporary  allurements  and  tran 
sitory  convictions,  which  appeared  in  the  first  number  of 
the  Enquirer,  made  it  clear  that  young  Ritchie  had  found 
a  life  work.  Without  advancing  any  pretensions  to  un 
bounded  and  varied  resources  he  characteristically  refused  to 
disclaim  them.  For  his  lack  of  knowledge  in  practical  things 
and  in  the  aways  of  the  world"  he  hoped  to  make  a  tem 
porary  compensation  by  drawing  upon  the  results  of  his 
"theoretical  research."  Of  only  one  thing  was  he  con 
fident,  and  that  was  the  unfailing  quality  of  his  zeal, 
a  confidence  which  he  never  betrayed.  Like  his  great  pro 
totype,  Jefferson,  he  knew  that  the  frailty  of  human  wis 
dom  would  often  lead  him  wrong  and  cause  others  to  think 
him  wrong  when  he  was  right.  For  each  contingency  he 
asked  only  the  indulgence  of  a  grateful  people  and  expressed 
the  patriotic  desire  to  be  able,  when  his  course  had  ended, 
to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  heart  and  indulge  the  reflection 
that  he  had  not  injured  his  country,  dishonored  his  profes 
sion,  or  sullied  his  personal  honor.5 

Though  in  full  accord  with  its  social  regime,  Ritchie's 
great  service  to  Virginia  and  incidentally  to  the  Union 
came  from  the  leaven  which  he,  as  an  editor,  injected  into 
aristocracy  and  conservatism.  Like  the  raindrops  against 
the  mountain  boulder  his  pleas  for  republicanism  and  greater 
equality  beat  in  vain  upon  that  old  Federalist  stronghold, 
Richmond,  but  they  cast  sprays  beyond,  which  brought  poli 
tical  life  and  virility  to  all  the  surrounding  country.  Unlike 
most  Virginians  of  his  day,  he  was  a  disciple  of  Adam 
Smith,  being  well  versed  in  the  principles  of  his  "Wealth  of 
Nations"  and  in  the  writings  of  the  other  great  thinkers  of 

5  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  9,   1804. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  21 

the  liberal  school  of  political  economy,  Ricardo,  Malhus, 
and  Say.  He  was  equally  well  informed  in  the  writings  of 
Voltaire,  Rousseau,  and  Paine  who,  with  the  economists  above 
mentioned,  had  already  revolutionized  society.  With  them 
he  believed  that  governments  had  long  had  too  much  power 
and  individuals  too  little.  This  he  thought  the  chief  dif 
ference  between  despotic  and  republican  governments,  be 
tween  those  of  Europe  and  that  of  the  United  States.  In 
the  former,  agriculture  was  shackled  by  entails,  primogeni 
ture,  and  tithes;  manufacturing  was  restrained  by  corpora 
tion  and  apprenticeship  laws;  and  commerce  was  stifled  by 
the  abuses  of  privilege.  He  was  determined  that  Virginia 
should  throw  off  whatever  relics  of  feudalism  lingered 
in  her  society  and  conform  her  thought  and  legislation  to 
the  genius  of  republicanism.6  To  this  end  he  considered 
popular  education,  local  reforms  in  the  existing  laws  and 
customs,  and  the  development  of  the  state's  natural  resources 
as  indispensable  prerequisites.  He  was  thus  ready  to  take 
up  these  subjects  where  Jefferson  and  Madison  had  been 
forced  to  abandon  them  a  quarter  of  a  century  before.  In 
him  the  theorists  of  1776  had  at  last  found  a  champion  who 
did  not  tremble  or  quail  before  the  realities  of  democracy. 

Our  unexampled  freedom  and  opportunity,  Ritchie  main- 
tained,  could  be  endangered  by  one  or  all  of  four  evils: 
war,  luxury,  the  fitful  violence  of  party  spirit,  and  the  dis 
memberment  of  the  Union.  War  offered  an  opportunity  for 
a  designing  president  or  an  ambitious  party  leader  to  usurp 
the  government;  luxurious  indulgence  would  unnerve  the 
zeal  that  watched  over  the  public  welfare;  when  carried  to 
the  point  of  persecution  and  riot,  party  spirit  might  lead  to 
a  despotism  like  that  in  France;  and  dismemberment  was 
certain  to  be  followed  by  border  warfare  between  the  states 
and  a  return  to  dependence  upon  Europe.  To  avoid  war  he 
advised  adherence  to  Jefferson's  counsels  for  peace  and  to  the 
well  known  injunctions  of  Washington's  Farewell  Address; 
he  found  an  antidote  for  the  rising  tide  of  luxury  in  enlight- 

6  Richmond  Enquirer,  April   14,   1807. 


22  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

ened  minds  and  in  the  maintenance  of  equal  industrial  and 
political  opportunities  for  all;  and  he  would  have  avoided 
unnecessary  and  dangerous  manifestations  of  party  spirit 
by  a  strict  adherence  to  the  compromises  of  the  constitution 
and  to  the  conciliatory  spirit  in  which  it  had  been  drawn. 
In  this  early  stand  for  conciliation  and  compromise  he  struck 
the  key-note  of  his  subsequent  career. 

With  these  diagnoses  and  specifics  thus  carefully  made 
and  set  forth  Ritchie  took  his  place  as  a  sentinel  upon 
the  watch-tower  of  the  rights  of  the  individual  states.  Cir 
cumstances  and  conditions  had  more  to  do  with  placing  and 
keeping  him  there  than  inclination  or  personal  preference. 
In  ordaining  and  establishing  the  federal  government  the 
fathers  had  attempted  to  avoid  each  of  the  two  well  recog 
nized  evils  in  all  government,  the  tendency  to  centraliza 
tion  on  the  one  hand  and  to  decentralization  on  the  other. 
Observation  and  study  had  taught  them  that  one  led  to 
despotism,  the  other  to  anarchy.  They  had  thus  resorted  to 
a  division  of  powers  between  the  central  and  the  state  gov 
ernments,  evolving  the  idea  of  a  dual  sovereignty  in  a  single 
state.  In  contemplating  the  result  of  their  efforts,  Gladstone 
later  pronounced  it  "the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck 
off  at  a  given  time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of  man/'  Had 
Ritchie  been  able  to  ignore  facts  and  conditions,  he  would 
have  been  a  neutral,  guarding  alike  the  rights  of  both  the 
central  and  the  state  governments.  But  the  exigencies  of 
our  growing  and  expanding  country  had  caused  statesmen 
of  all  parties  to  depart  from  the  letter  of  the  constitution, 
by  which  alone  the  government  of  the  fathers  could  be  main 
tained.  Under  the  general  welfare  license  they  were  rapidly 
sweeping  the  country  toward  the  dreaded  maelstrom  of  cen 
tralization.  Even  Jefferson  had  passed  dangerously  near 
that  pit  on  more  than  one  occasion.  If  the  government  of 
the  fathers  was  to  be  preserved,  Ritchie  had  thus  no  choice, 
except  to  defend  its  vulnerable  points.  It  is  as  a  strict-con- 
structionist  of  the  conservative  type  that  he  will  live  in  his 
tory.  With  that  same  spirit  of  conciliation  and  compromise 
which  had  characterized  the  federal  convention  of  1787,  he 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  23 

continued  to  be  a  patriot  of  the  ancient  type  and  to  see  in 
our  original  plan  of  government  what  Gladstone  and  Madison 
saw.  Had  we  adhered  to  that  plan,  his  precepts  would  today 
be  watch-words  on  the  tower  of  civic  liberty  and  his  name 
a  commonplace  in  every  household.  Who  can  now  look  into 
the  lesson  of  the  past  and  contemplate  the  problems  of  the 
future  and  deny  him  positively  and  unreservedly  the  right 
to  such  a  distinction  ? 

In  his  defence  of  the  powers  and  the  rights  of  the  states, 
wJbich  in  its  broadest  sense  was  a  plea  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union,  Ritchie  drew  his  chief  information  and  inspira 
tion  from  Madison's  Report  of  1799  to  the  Virginia  Assembly 
and  from  Edmund  Pendleton's  celebrated  essay  written 
shortly  after  Jefferson's  first  election  to  the  presidency  and 
entitled  "The  Danger  Not  Over."  These  documents  were 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments  of  his  political  faith.  The 
former  is  accessible  to  all  readers,  but  the  latter  is  an  unex- 
ploited  source  of  the  "Virginia  doctrines."  Though  brief, 
it  is  a  matchless  presentation  of  the  evils  of  centralization 
and  decentralization.  It  was  frequently  referred  to  by 
Ritchie  in  his  editorials  and  was  republished  in  the  Enquirer 
after  Jackson's  election  to  the  presidency  in  1828  to  serve 
as  a  warning  to  him,  as  it  had  served  as  a  warning  to 
Jefferson. 

Among  all  the  companions  of  Ritchie's  early  years  there 
were  few  if  any  who  did  more  to  instruct  him  in  the  tenets 
of  sound  republicanism  than  Henry  Clay.  The  "mill  boy 
of  the  slashes"  and  the  studious  son  of  the  Scotch  merchant 
man  were  kindred  spirits.  They  had  each  sat  at  the  feet 
of  a  Gamaliel.  The  former  was  a  disciple  of  George  Wythe, 
the  latter  of  Spencer  Roane.  When  young  Ritchie  had 
found  it  convenient  to  visit  Richmond,  they  discussed  to 
gether  grave  political  and  economic  questions  in  a  manner 
which  made  it  plain  that  they  had  each  caught  the  progres 
sive  spirit  of  the  age.  They  were  each  imbued  with  the 
idea  and  the  feeling  of  a  new  era,  in  which  government  would 
be  improved  and  the  civil  happiness  of  man  enlarged.  They 
were  each  tired  of  that  narrow  and  dastardly  coasting  which 


24  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

had  kept  legislatures  close  to  usage  and  to  precedent.  They 
yearned  to  hazard  a  voyage  in  search  of  the  treasure  of  public 
felicity.  Though  they  later  ceased  to  be  friends,  they  fol 
lowed  the  same  roads,  each  tempering  his  actions  by  a  spirit 
of  conciliation  and  compromise.7 

7  See  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  6,  1828;   Ibid.,  September  10, 
1852. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  25 


CHAPTER!!. 

THE  PEACE  REGIME. 

The  intervention  of  the  French  revolutionists  in  San 
Domingo  and  the  bloody  scenes  which  followed  the  overthrow 
of  French  authority  there  fixed  the  eyes  of  the  slaveholders 
of  the  United  States  upon  that  unhappy  island.  The  condi 
tions  there,  together  with  an  occasional  rumor  regarding 
local  uprisings  at  home,  caused  the  slaveholders  of  Virginia 
to  tremble  for  their  own  security  and  dictated  silence  on  this 
all  important  subject  to  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer.  At 
first  Ritchie  had  promised  full  accounts  of  the  massacres  and 
complete  texts  of  the  proclamations  being  made  by  the  black 
chieftain,  Dessalines.  His  conception  of  the  freedom  of  the 
press  left  no  other  alternative.  A  brief  experience  revealed, 
however,  that  >such  a  promise  was  not  in  harmony  with  the 
feelings  and  sentiments  of  Virginia,  which  had  already  de 
cided  upon  a  policy  of  studied  silence  upon  the  subject  of 
negroes  and  negro  slavery.  Accordingly  his  promises  were 
never  kept,  and  he  expressed  the  wish  that  no  one  "would 
demand  the  reason." 

Thus  early  Ritchie  fell  into  that  great  reaction  against 
the  anti-slavery  movement  which  had  attended  and  followed 
the  American  Revolution  and  given  liberty  to  thousands  of 
those  in  bondage.  The  current  with  which  he  had  cast  his 
lot,  in  time,  eradicated  those  sentiments  and  theories  which 
caused  Washington,  Jefferson,  Randolph,  and  others  to  eman 
cipate  their  'slaves  and  made  the  South  a  pro-slavery  section. 
Ritchie  now  began  the  first  contribution  to  these  ends  by 
advocating  the  enactment  of  laws  making  it  more  difficult 
for  slaves  to  gain  their  freedom  and  restricting  the  liberty 
of  the  free  negroes.1 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  9,  1804;  Ibid.,  January  15,  1805. 


26  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Even  at  this  early  date  it  is  evident  that  Ritchie  recog 
nized  in  the  slavery  problem  a  negro  problem  as  well.  Thus 
he  raised  a  voice  of  protest  when  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  in  response  to  the  increased  demand  for  negroes 
caused  by  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  and  the  invention  of 
the  cotton  gin,  opened  their  ports  to  the  foreign  slave-trade. 
Virginia  had  too  large  a  surplus  of  that  "melancholy  race 
of  men,  whose  fate  we  may  deplore  but  can  not  redress,"  to 
permit  her  to  sit  quietly  by  and  see  Africa  supply  a  demand 
which  she  could  supply  equally  well,  though  not  so  cheap. 
Plainly  this  was  not  a  time  for  silence  from  the  Enquirer 
which  now  advocated  an  amendment  to  the  Federal  Consti 
tution  to  forbid  the  foreign  slave-trade  after  1808.2  It  also 
condemned  that  spirit  of  avarice  which  was  driving  the  slave^ 
dealeirs  from  the  western  to  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa  in 
their  search  for  human  prey.  Within  two  weeks,  from  May 
1st  to  May  15th,  1806,  one  newspaper  in  South  Carolina 
had  advertised  for  sale  seven  hundred  and  forty  negroes 
newly  imported  from  Zanzibar  and  other  points  on  the  east 
coast  of  Africa.  His  interested  denunciations  of  these  "hor 
rible  crimes"  to  humanity  were  potent  factors  in  procuring 
the  enactment  of  a  federal  law  to  prohibit  the  foreign  slave- 
trade  after  January  1,  1808. 

Meanwhile  the  chronic  fear  of  the  Virginians  toward 
banks  and  banking  had  subsided  enough  to  permit  the  As 
sembly  to  charter  a  state  bank  which  was  established  in 
Richmond  in  1804  and  was  called  the  Bank  of  Virginia. 
Hitherto  the  fabulous  profits  of  the  West  India  trade  and 
the  demands  for  credit  had  not  induced  them  to  embark  upon 
such  enterprises.  With  a  characteristic  conservatism  they 
had  adhered  to  their  rural  simplicity  and  feared  banks,  be 
cause  it  was  believed  that  they  fostered  monopoly,  increased 
the  cost  of  living,  and  paved  the  way  to  luxury  and  extrava 
gance.  As  a  consequence  the  routes  of  commerce  did  not 
terminate  in  their  ports,  and  they  themselves  had  become  as 

2  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  28,  1805;  Ibid.,  June  3,  1806. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  27 

dependent  upon  the  bankers  of  London  as  they  are  today 
dependent  upon  those  of  New  York. 

Ritchie  shared  many  of  the  local  prejudices  of  his  coun 
trymen  against  the  banks,  but  his  experiences  and  observa 
tions  as  the  son  of  one  of  the  largest  exporting  and  import 
ing  merchants  of  colonial  Virginia  had  taught  the  value, 
nay  the  necessity,  of  institutions  of  credit.  Besides  his 
cousin,  Dr.  John  Brockenbrough,  who  was  also  born  and 
bred  in  the  old  commercial  center,  Tappahannock,  and  who 
later  became  president  of  the  proposed  bank,  was  now  in 
terested  as  one  of  its  directors  in  putting  it  into  operation. 
The  opportunity  for  fixing  the  hold  of  an  Essex  Junto  upon 
Virginia  was  <at  hand  and  was  too  tempting  to  let  pass.  His 
uncle,  Spencer  Roane,  also  from  Essex  county,  was  presi 
dent  of  the  Court  of  Appeals;  several  friends  were  influ 
ential  in  both  the  Assembly  and  in  Congress;  and  with 
Brockenbrough  at  the  head  of  the  financial  interest  and 
Ritchie  at  the  head  of  the  press,  there  was  no  reason  why 
the  influence  of  these  stalwart  sons  of  the  younger  genera 
tion  could  not  be  made  permanent  in  Virginia.  True,  their 
methods  were  clannish,  but  which  one  of  the  large  family  of 
Virginians  could  object  to  that?  Accordingly  Ritchie  en 
dorsed  the  proposed  departure,  ostensibly  that  the  country 
might  have  sufficient  capital  to  develop  its  natural  resources. 
To  prevent  the  dreaded  monopoly  in  the  banking  business 
he  recommended  the  freest  competition  and  the  public  sale 
of  bank  stock. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  after  the  Bank  of  Virginia  had 
been  established  and  put  into  successful  operation  before 
Ritchie  experienced  a  complete  change  of  mind  regarding 
the  banking  business.  This  change  was  doubtless  shared,  if 
it  was  not  induced,  by  his  relatives  and  friends.  He  now 
became  a  conservative,  in  modern  terms,  one  identified  with 
the  interests,  and  in  the  face  of  his  democratic  theories  set 
himself  squarely  against  that  free  competition  which  he  had 
formerly  recommended  and  to  which  the  state  of  New  York 
later  resorted  in  an  effort  to  remove  her  banking  business 


28  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

from  politics.  He  now  defended  Richmond's  monopoly,  in 
sisted  that  bank  directors  should  be  Republicans,  and  de 
nied  banking  privileges  to  towns  under  the  control  or  even  the 
influence  of  the  Federalists.3  In  defence  of  Richmond's 
monopoly  he  referred  to  the  worthless  "out  of  town  bank 
bills"  which  had  demoralized  the  finances  of  Massachusetts, 
despite  the  wholesome  influences  of  Boston.4 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  in  view  of  the  prominent  part  he 
later  played,  Ritchie  buckled  on  the  armor  of  national  poli 
tics  reluctantly.  It  was  generally  conceded  that  the  En 
quirer  had  been  established  with  the  sanction  and  by  the  aid 
of  Jefferson.  Consequently  its  early  silence  on  national 
questions  became  a  matter  of  concern  and  comment.  "Index" 
demanded  information  about  the  threatened  schism  within 
the  Republican  party  and  the  censures  which  were  being 
daily  directed  toward  Mr.  Jefferson.5  A  series  of  essays  de 
fending  Virginia  Against  the  attacks  of  New  England  was 
the  only  answer.  Ritchie's  silence  came  not  from  a  lack  of 
information  in  practical  politics  or  from  ignorance  on  the 
subject  of  statecraft.  He  was  well  versed  in  the  latter  and 
in  a  position  to  know  all  that  was  to  be  known  about  the 
former.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  his  silence  was  due  to  a 
deference  to  Jefferson's  wishes.  The  questions  relating  to 
the  Yazoo  frauds,  the  occupation  of  Florida,  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana,  and  the  renewal  of  war  in  Europe  had  clouded 
the  political  horizon,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  saw  his  way 
clearly  out  of  any  one  of  the  perplexing  situations.  Silence 
was  therefore  the  better  part  of  discretion  on  the  part  of  a 
party  organ. 

There  came  a  time,  however,  when  silence  ceased  to  be  a 
virtue.  Luckily  for  Ritchie  the  Louisiana  purchase  was  a 
closed  incident  when  he  entered  public  life.  He  could  there 
fore  pass  over  the  question  of  its  constitutionality  without 
comment.  But  not  so  with  the  petitions  requesting  a  repub- 

8  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  7,  9,   11,   18-06. 
4  Ibid.,  April   15,   1807. 
*IUd.,   September   22,    1804. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  29 

lican  form  of  government  for  its  inhabitants.  Like  the  mod 
ern  politician  he  would  have  accorded  them  a  respectful 
hearing  without  thought  of  granting  their  requests.  With 
Jefferson  he  considered  them  unfit  for  self-government,  and 
saw  in  the  anxiety  of  those  who  advocated  their  requests  for 
it  attempts  to  embarrass  the  administration.  Unlike  the 
English  colonists  in  America,  the  scions  of  a  free  country 
and  the  heirs  to  democratic  institutions,  they  knew  not  the 
ways  of  republics.  No  colleges  or  private  schools  adorned 
their  land;  the  press  had  not  diffused  the  lessons  of  reason 
among  them ;  and  not  more  than  half  of  their  number  could 
even  read  and  write.  In  the  light  of  the  great  barriers  which 
lie  between  all  extremes  he  saw  no  inconsistency  with  his 
own  theories  or  any  injustice  or  lack  of  wisdom  on  the  part 
of  the  administration  in  the  policy  to  extend  representative 
government  to  Louisiana  by  degrees,  to  be  determined  in  each 
case  by  the  fitness  of  its  inhabitants  to  receive  it.6 

Regarding  the  wisdom,  yea  the  necessity,  of  the  Louisi 
ana  purchase  Ritchie  entertained  not  a  doubt.  Consequently 
he  sought  to  gain  the  greatest  possible  advantages  from  it. 
Thus  Spain's  efforts  to  restrict  us  to  the  western  bank  of 
the  Mississippi  met  in  him  a  patriotic  resistance.  By  refer 
ence  to  the  treaties  of  1719  and  1763  he  tried  to  prove  that 
West  Florida  had  always  been  a  part  of  Louisiana.  He  pre 
ferred  compromise,  however,  to  war  as  a  means  of  settling 
that  question.  Unlike  Jefferson  he  was  not  temperamentally 
opposed  to  war.  In  this  case  he  considered  it  a  poor  method 
to  promote  the  federal  interests.  True,  Spain  was  not 
formidable,  and  could  not  defend  even  East  Florida  against 
an  attack  by  American  frontiersmen.  But  our  republican 
institutions  were  yet  in  an  experimental  stage  and  might 
not  weather  the  vicissitudes  of  a  great  international  war 
and  the  consequent  indebtedness  which  it  would  involve. 
Accordingly  he  suggested  that  Spain  be  given  a  clear  title 
to  the  land  between  the  Mobile  and  the  Perdido  rivers  in 

0  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  3,   1804. 


30  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

exchange  for  the  remaining  part  of  West  Florida.  In  case 
of  a  refusal  to  accept  this  offer  he  would  have  given  her 
lands  west  of  the  Sabine  river,  the  present  territory  of  Texas, 
in  exchange  for  both  East  Florida  and  West  Florida.  The 
latter  proposition  was  especially  attractive,  because  accept 
ance  would  have  given  us  an  unbroken  coast  line  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  extended  our  possessions  into  the  very  heart 
of  the  West  Indies.7 

His  equivocal  attitude  on  the  Yazoo  affair  caused  Duane, 
editor  of  the  Aurora  and  leader  of  the  insurgents  in  Penn 
sylvania,  to  pronounce  Ritchie  "a  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing'' 
and  "a  temporizer"  with  'schemes  of  plunder  and  iniquity.8 
Though  the  Enquirer  condemned  the  alleged  attempt  of  the 
Yazoo  claimants  to  defraud  the  federal  goveirnment  and 
praised  Randolph's  genius  in  opposing  them  and  in  keeping 
pure  the  principles  of  the  republic,  it  did  not  publish  his 
speeches  made  in  December,  1804,  in  opposition  to  their 
claims.  They  were  the  first  signals  of  schism,  and  as  such 
were  passed  over  in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  the  last. 
Later,  when  Randolph  made  his  chief  effort  in  this  case, 
Ritchie's  attitude  toward  him  remained  unchanged,  but  he 
continued  to  defend  Madison's  integrity  and  good  intentions 
in  favoring  the  Yazoo  claimants.  This  unusal  stand  of  the 
Enquirer  was  doubtless  due  to  a  desire  on  the  part  of  its 
editor  and  those  for  whom  he  spoke,  to  maintain  harmony 
and  accord  within  the  administration  party.  Randolph  had 
a  large  following  in  Virginia,  who  concurred  in  his  opposi 
tion  to  the  centralizing  tendencies  of  the  federal  govern 
ment  and  were  willing  to  follow  him  into  any  insurgent 
movement.  Besides  he  had  been  more  irritable  than  usual 
in  attacking  the  "Yazoo  thieves,"  and  he  yet  had  a  great 
service  to  perform  to  the  Republican  party  in  sustaining 
the  impeachment  of  Judge  Chase.  Success  in  this  effort 
would  doubtless  elate  him  and  redeem  him  with  Jefferson. 

7  Richmond    Enquirer,    September    15,    1804;     Ibid.,    October*    13 
17,   1804. 

8  Ibid.,  April  13,  1805. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  31 

Thus  there  was  a  prospect  of  avoiding  schism,  and  the  En 
quirer  lost  no  oportunity  to  improve  it.9 

All  of  Ritchie's  precautions  were  useless.  Randolph  did 
not  succeed  in  sustaining  the  impeachment  charges  and  re^ 
tired  from  the  troublesome  eighth  Congress  distrusted  by  and 
disgusted  with  Jefferson  and  Madison  and  the  rank  and  file 
of  his  party.  The  sudden  announcement  of  Jefferson's  in 
tention  to  retire  with  a  second  term,  placed  Madison  in  line 
for  the  succession  and  aroused  all  the  bitterness  and  jealousy 
in  Randolph's  nature.  From  his  home  at  Bizarre  in  the 
summer  of  1805  he  poured  out  his  discontent  and  dissatis 
faction  to  his  friends,  Nicholson,  Macon,  and  Gallatin,  and 
indulged  in  talk  about  "more  union  and  decision  among  the 
real  friends  of  freedom."  This  was  the  atmosphere  in  which 
was  born  the  "Quid"  party  which  now  turned  to  Monroe  as 
the  only  person  capable  of  defeating  Madison  for  the  presi 
dency.  It  effected  no  formal  organization  and  was  held  to 
gether  only  by  a  common  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  on  the 
part  of  its  leaders. 

Notwithstanding  the  formidable  characters,  who  were 
arraying  themselves  against  the  administration,  and  Ran 
dolph's  fulminations,  Ritchie  continued  his  efforts  at  concil 
iation.  To  this  end  he  refused  to  concede  the  possibility  of 
Randolph's  complete  defection  and  shrewdly  placed  all  oppo 
sition  Republicans  into  a  class  with  the  Federalists.  Con 
sidering  the  ultimate  outcome  of  this  third  party  movement 
his  comments  upon  the  political  conditions  following  the 
adjournment  of  the  eighth  Congress  show  true  political  in 
sight.  In  the  proposed  "union  of  honest  men"  he  saw  only 
"the  chorus  of  a  Federalist  ditty."  Because  of  her  uniform 
population  and  freedom  from  the  infection  of  popular  elec 
tions  he  feared  no  third  party  in  Virginia.  Unlike  their 
kinsmen  in  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  the  German  and 
Irish  elements  in  Virginia's  population  could  not  be  organ- 

9  Richmond   Enquirer,   December    15,    1804;    Ibid.,   April    13,    1805. 


32  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

ized  into  "clans  and  tribes  for  political  purposes."10  He 
expected  differences  of  opinion  as  well  as  a  "censurable  spirit 
of  moderation"  among  those  "who  lived  in  the  towns,"  but 
he  was  certain  that  the  yeomen  of  Virginia  would  not  desert 
the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party.  In  general  these  obser 
vations  were  correct,  but  the  forces  making  for  accord  and 
union  within  the  party  were  too  slow  moving  to  prevent  the 
Federalists  and  the  Quids  from  uniting  in  the  Assembly  of 
1805-',06  to  elect  W.  H.  Cabell  to  the  governorship  and  to 
defeat  Ritchie  for  election  to  the  office  of  public  printer. 

Meanwhile  international  relations  had  taken  a  turn  which 
would  eventually  increase  Randolph's  hostility  to  the  ad 
ministration  and  render  schism  within  the  Republican  party 
inevitable.  Our  claims  to  West  Florida  and  the  act  of  Con 
gress  making  Mobile  a  collection  district  for  duties  and 
customs  had  called  forth  a  terrible  castigation  from  the  Mar 
quis  of  Casa  Yrujo,  minister  from  Spain  to  the  United 
States,  and  had  produced  a  warlike  attitude  toward  us  on 
the  part  of  both  Spain  and  France.  While  Randolph  was" 
pouring  out  his  dissatisfaction  to  his  friends  and  receiving 
consolation  in  kind,  the  leaders  at  Washington  were  talking 
about  war  with  Spain  and  contemplating  the  possibility  of 
defeating  Macon's  re-election  to  the  speakership  of  the 
House.  The  approach  of  the  war  cloud  had,  however, 
allayed  the  intense  feelings  on  all  sides,  and  Macon  and 
Randolph  returned  to  the  ninth  Congress,  the  former  able 
to  effect  his  re-election  to  the  speakership  and  the  latter  will 
ing  to  co-operate,  as  chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  Com 
mittee,  in  preparations  for  war  with  Spain.  Accordingly 
the  regular  annual  message,  sounding  the  war  cry,  was  popu 
larly  received. 

Ritchie  had  seized  upon  the  bellicose  spirit  of  the  coun 
try  as  another  means  of  avoiding  faction  within  the  admin 
istration  party.  Though  counseling  the  prudence  of  Poly- 
crates  of  Samos,  he  praised  the  annual  message.11  He  had 

10  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  8,   1805. 

11  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  17,  1805. 


A  STUDY  is  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  33 

now  abandoned  all  idea  of  compromise  with  Spain,  and  fol 
lowing  the  popular  demand,  possibly  with  an  idea  of  directing 
it,  had  advised  the  conquest  of  West  Florida  and  so  much 
of  East  Florida  as  would  insure  the  payment  of  a  war  indem 
nity.  He  now  insisted  upon  an  increase  in  the  standing 
army  and  the  construction  of  an  efficient  navy. 

To  the  utter  surprise  of  Randolph  and  his  small  tribe, 
and  without  consulting  a  single  one  of  them,  Jefferson  sent 
a  secret  message  to  Congress  three  days  after  the  regular 
message,  in  which  he  invited  it  to  make  preparations  for  the 
purchase  of  Florida  and  said  not  a  word  about  war.  The 
proposed  purchase  was  to  be  made  either  through  France  or 
as  a  bribe  to  her,  and  had  a  secret  origin  in  the  cabinet. 
When  Randolph  grasped  the  situation  he  saw  that  the  Span 
ish  dispute  had  been  converted  into  a  French  job.  At  once 
he  began  a  series  of  amusing  tactics  to  defeat  the  object  of 
the  special  message  and  to  bring  reproach  upon  Madison. 
After  a  hurried  interview  with  the  President  and  Madison, 
in  which  he  made  it  plain  that  he  would  not  bribe  one  nation 
to  rob  another,  he  delayed  a  week  and  then  made  a  visit  to 
Baltimore  before  calling  a  meeting  of  his  committee  to  which 
the  matter  had  been  referred.  When  the  committee  did 
meet,  which  was  not  until  late  in  December,  he  secured  the 
adoption  of  a  report  adhering  to  the  original  plans  for  war 
with  Spain.  After  a  prolonged  session  behind  closed  doors 
the  President's  request  was  finally  granted. 

During  the  enactment  of  this  comic  drama,  in  which 
Randolph  had  behaved  like  a  spoiled  boy  and  Jefferson  him 
self  had  not  escaped  the  political  mire,  the  Enquirer,  in 
common  with  the  press  of  the  whole  country,  maintained  a 
profound  silence.  The  mysterious  secret  session,  preceded 
as  it  had  been  by  what  seemed  to  be  a  popular  and  official 
demand  for  war,  left  no  doubt  about  some  hitch  in  the  work 
ings  of  federal  machinery.  Considering  the  possibilities 
for  war  it  was  no  time  for  idle  conjecture).  Shortly  before 
Pitt  had  revolutionized  the  rules  hitherto  recognized  as  regu 
lating  neutral  commerce,  and  Sir  William  Scott  had  handed 


34  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

down  a  decision  which  render  American  ships  fit  subjects 
for  British  prizes.  Accordingly  Ritchie  sought  to  ease  the 
public  mind  by  leaving  doubt  as  to  whether  the  mysterious 
actions  of  Congress  related  to  Great  Britain  or  to  Spain.12 

At  length  thei  cloud  of  secrecy  passed,  and  Ritchie  was 
forced  to  look  upon  a  discordant  party.  After  hitting  some 
desperate  blows  and  hurling  Jefferson  and  dozens  of  Con 
gressmen  headlong  into  the  mire,  Randolph  had  placed  him 
self  beyond  the  pale  of  the  Republican  party,  and  his  like 
ness  to  the  porcupine  rendered  a  continuation  of  the  efforts  to 
caress  and  fondle  him  extremely  dangerous.  Thus  Ritchie 
assumed  a  studied  indifference  toward  him  and  made  haste 
to  proclaim  the  "glorious  news''  of  a  peaceful  settlement  of 
our  difficulties  with  Spain  and  to  divert  the  hostile  tendencies 
of  the  country  toward  Great  Britain  which,  he  said,  should 
be  taught  that  "the  sovereignty  of  the  seas  is  an  absurd  and 
dangerous  dogma."13  At  the  same  time  he  praised  the  wis 
dom  and  the  'statesmanship  of  the  President.  Later  he  pub 
lished,  without  comment,  Randolph's  celebrated  speech  upon 
Gregg's  resolution  for  prohibiting  the  importation  of  British 
goods,  which  marked  his  final  breach  with  the  Republican 
party. 

As  the  election  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
drew  near  Ritchie  began  to  look  with  alarm  upon  the  pros 
pects  of  the  administration  party  in  Virginia.  He  saw 
clearly  that  inability  to  control  the  Assembly  might  endanger 
Madison's  chances  for  Teaching  the  presidency.  Accord 
ingly  he  made  a  conservative  and  conciliatory  review  of  the 
proceedings  of  the,  late  Congress  with  a  view  to  influencing 
the  local  election.  At  the  head  of  the  factional  opposition 
he  saw  a  Virginian  "whose  conduct  had  been  not  unworthy 
of  Bayard  himself,  sans  peur,  sans  reproche,"  and  he  was 
confident  that  we  could  not  and  should  not  rely  upon  France 
to  interpose  her  good  offices  between  us  and  Spain.  He  also 
ridiculed  the  idea  entertained  by  some  blind  partisans  that 

12  Richmond  Enquirer,   January   14,    1806. 

13  Ibid.,  January   14,   16,   1806. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  35 

Jefferson  could  do  no  wrong.  His  method  of  dealing  with 
Spain  had  certainly  been  a  "melancholy  example"  of  his 
human  frailties.  Nevertheless  he  recognized  in  Jefferson 
"a  man  of  most  unblemished  integrity,  a  man  whose  admin 
istration  had  manifested  no  less  vigilance  than  virtue/'  and 
he  predicted  that  it  would  be  months  and  years  before  we 
would  have  a  president  who  would  be  more  worthy  or  in 
whom  we  could  repose  more  confidence.14 

Randolph  had  taken  leave  of  his  party  never  to  return 
so  long  as  Jefferson  and  Madison  directed  its  councils. 
Henceforth  he  voted  almost  uniformly  with  the  Federalists 
and  did  not  scruple  at  a  resort  to  the  most  "diabolical  and 
ingenious  arts"  to  defeat  the  measures  of  the  administra 
tion.  Both  in  the  national  House  and  on  the  local  hustings 
he  became  a  flowing  gargoyle  of  vituperation  which  attracted 
attention  because  of  its  sparkling  illustration.  Not  content 
with  his  verbal  denunciations  of  Jefferson  and  his  adminis 
tration,  he  went  into  print  over  the  signature  "Deems."  In 
the  series  of  essays  which  followed  he  laid  bare  the  contents 
of  the  President's  secret  message  regarding  Spain,  praised 
the  minority  which  had  dared  to  oppose  it,  and  poured  out 
vials  of  sarcasm  upon  the  "idol"  who  ruled  in  the  White 
House.15  In  fact  these  essays  were  the  first,  if  not  the  only, 
formal  statement  of  the  principles  of  the  Quids. 

A  due  consideration  for  the  freedom  of  the  press  ad 
mitted  Decius  to  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer,  but  the  an 
swers  to  his  essays  show  clearly  that  Ritchie  had  given  up 
all  hope  of  healing  the  schism  within  the  Republican  party, 
and  that  he  had  returned  to  his  original  ideas  of  our  proper 
policies  in  dealing  with  Spain.  Henceforth  he  spoke  of 
Randolph  as  lacking  the  tempering  influences  of  experience 
requisite  in  a  statesman  and  defended  Jefferson  unqualifi 
edly.  Even  the  lately  lamented  secret  message  now  became 
wise  and  patriotic  and  a  statesman-like  method  of  dealing 

14  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  13,  1806. 

15  Ibid.,  August   15,   September   2,  November   18,   and   December   9, 
1806. 


36  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

with  the  conditions  as  they  existed  in  December,  1805. 
Questions  of  diplomacy  were  not  for  the  common  herd,  much 
less  John  Randolph.  Again  Ritchie  entertained  the  hope 
that  Spain  might  sell  the  Floridas  to  keep  them  from  falling 
into  the  possession  of  the  mistress  of  the  seas.  He  also  re 
vived  the  idea  of  exchanging  a  part  of  Louisiana  for  them.16 
In  terms  which  suggest  the  Monroe  Doctrine  he  warned  his 
countrymen  against  allowing  them  to  become  the  property 
of  Great  Britain  in  any  event. 

The  regular  Republicans  had  triumphed  in  the  local 
elections  of  1806,  and  when  the  Assembly  met  in  December 
of  that  year  efforts  were  made  to  censure  the  insurgent  Re 
publicans.  To  this  end  resolutions  were  introduced,  one  to 
commend  the  President,  another  to  condemn  his  critics.17 
While  disavowing  any  intention  to  protect  or  defend  Ran 
dolph,  Ritchie  again  came  forward  in  his  role  of  the  concili 
ator.  He  heartily  approved  the  resolution  commending  the 
President,  but  as  earnestly  opposed  the  other.  He  did  not 
believe  all  the  members  of  the  factional  minority  equally 
culpable  and  therefore  feared  that  a  general  resolution  of 
censure  might  be  unjust  to  some.  Then,  too,  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Randolph  "held  no  terms  whatsoever  with  Madison"  did 
not  necessarily  make  him  and  his  followers  uncompromising 
enemies  of  Jefferson.  Had  not  Decius  himself  spoken  of 
the  "illustrious"  President?  Ritchie's  councils  prevailed, 
and  only  the  resolution  commending  Jefferson  received  a 
majority  of  the  Assembly.18 

In  the  meantime  the  efforts  of  General  Miranda  in  be 
half  of  the  revolting  Spanish  patriots  in  America  were  at 
tracting  general  attention.  Sympathy  for  him  and  his  cause 
ran  high  in  the  southern  states,  whence  both  men  and  means 
were  sent  to  his  aid.  Even  the  inland  city  of  Richmond 
sent  aid  under  the  guise  of  a  trading  expedition,  and  Vir- 

16  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  28,  1806. 
"Ibid.,  December  9,  1806. 
islbid.,  December  20,  25,  1806. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  37 

ginians  expected  Jefferson  to  become  the  god-father  of  his 
filibustering  expeditions.19 

Though  in  sympathy  with  the  revolting  Spaniards, 
Ritchie  believed  Miranda  an  arch  intriguer  and  warned  Jef 
ferson  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  his  expeditions.  Even  at 
this  early  date  he  believed  that  the  Spanish  possessions  in 
America  would  eventually  become  free,  though  not  under 
his  leadership.  He  therefore  tried  to  dampen  the  ardor  of 
his  countrymen  in  their  zeal  to  help  him,  and  insisted  that 
their  proposed  expedition  would  be  a  palpable  violation  of 
international  law  and  result  in  another  South  Sea  Bubble.20 

At  this  juncture  attention  was  suddenly  diverted  from 
Randolph  and  South  America  to  our  own  West.  After  his 
fatal  encounter  with  Hamilton,  Burr  had  retired  from  the 
vice-presidency  to  seek  new  fortunes  and  new  friends  on  the 
frontier.  There  he  met  General  Wilkinson,  the  arch-traitor 
of  American  traitors.  What  transpired  between  them  will 
never  be  known,  but  it  is  certain  that  Burr  returned  from 
this  trip  filled  with  new  ambitions  and  a  determination  to 
return  to  the  West  with  a  band  of  adventurers.  All  this 
happened  just  after  Randolph's  tirade  against  the  "Yazoo 
thieves"  and  his  failure  to  sustain  the  charges  of  impeach 
ment  against  Judge  Chase,  and  while  he  was  yet  sulking  in 
his  tent.  Consequently,  he,  Macon,  and  Nicholson  looked 
on  with  an  anxiety  intermingled  with  delight  while  Burr, 
Dayton,  and  their  friends  in  the  West  hatched  their  treason 
able  plots  and  worked  upon  the  "easy  credulity"  of  Jefferson 
in  an  effort  to  destroy  him.  In  the  operations  of  these  ad 
venturers  Randolph  saw  a  "con junction  of  malign  planets" 
which  "bodes  no  good." 

Ritchie  shared  Jefferson's  credulity  in  dealing  with 
Burr.  Contrary  to  the  opinion  of  his  closest  friends  he  now 
refused  to  believe  that  Burr  had  shown  bad  faith  in  the 
election  of  1801,  and  that  he  now  sought  to  erect  an  empire 

19  Richmond  Enquirer,  March   7,    1806. 

20  Hid.,  March  4,  1806. 


38  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

in  Mexico  and  to  dismember  the  United  States  by  adding  a 
large  portion  of  tlie  Mississippi  valley  to  his  proposed  domin 
ions.21  He  saw  in  Burr  no  Napoleon,  and  thought  it  impos 
sible  for  him,  with  his  limited  resources  and  with  no  other 
following  than  a  band  of  adventurers,  to  conquer  an  exten 
sive  and  populous  empire  and  dismember  a  great  republic.22 
He  insisted  therefore  that  Burr's  expedition  was  simply  the 
last  resort  of  a  forlorn  and  friendless  man  to  find  a  new 
new  home  and  new  friends. 

The  Federalists,  especially  the  Marshalls  of  Kentucky, 
who  were  doubtless  prompted  and  aided  by  their  distin 
guished  kinsman,  the  Chief  Justice,  shared  the  suspicions 
of  Randolph  and  his  friends  regarding  Burr,  and  seized 
upon  the  occasion  as  a  suitable  one  for  exposing  Jefferson 
and  freeing  their  country  of  the  odious  presence  of  Wilkin 
son,  whose  treasonable  transactions  with  Spain  were  known 
to  or  suspected  by  them.  To  this  end  a  Mr.  Wood  of  Rich 
mond,  Virginia,  was  invited  to  Kentucky  and  made  editor 
of  The  Western  World,  a  newspaper  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  Federalism  in  the  "Dark  and  Bloody  Land."  Associated 
with  him  as  a  fighting,  partner,  such  a  coadjutor  being  more 
necessary  to  an  editor  in  that  day  and  climate  than  a 
printer's  devil,  was  a  Mr.  J.  M.  Street,  also  of  Richmond. 
The  very  first  issue  of  the  World  gave  a  history  of  the  Span 
ish  Association  and  of  Wilkinson's  treasonable  connection 
therewith,  and  made  it  evident  that  the  West  had  been 
honeycombed  with  treason  and  conspiracy  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century.23  It  required  no  stretch  of  imagination  to  apply 
its  revelations  and  deductions  to  the  questionable  acts  of  the 
ambitious  vice-president  who  was  then  returning  to  the  west 
ern  land. 

Though  admitting  that  Burr's  military  talents,  intrigu 
ing  disposition,  and  inordinate  ambition  rendered  him  a 
dangerous  resident  on  the  frontier,  especially  in  times  of 

11  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  2,   1805. 
22  Ibid.,  November  14,  28,  1806. 
d.,  September  5,   1806. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  39 

war,  and  deploring  Wilkinson's  frivolous  pomp*,  his  obsequi 
ous  court  to  parties  and  to  administrations,  and  his  hauteur 
toward  inferiors,  Kitchie  still  insisted  that  the  former  en 
tertained  no  treasonable  designs  and  excused  the  latter  for 
his  connection  with  the  Spanish  Association.  In  that  ven 
ture  he  now  saw  only  a  natural  revolt  against  the  Jay-Gar- 
doqui  negotiations  of  1785  and  the  untold  neglect  and 
iniquities  which  had  been  heaped  upon  the  West.  Jefferson 
had  recently  made  Wilkinson  governor  of  the  Upper  Louisi 
ana  Territory  and  permitted  him  to  'retain,  his  command  in 
the  regular  army.  But  it  is  not  plain  that  Ritchie  sought  to 
shield  his  chieftain  by  defending  Wilkinson,  because  he  now 
condemned  the  practice  of  combining  the  civil  and  military 
functions  of  government  in  the  same  hands,  and  criticised 
most  severely  Wilkinson's  abilities  and  private  character.24 
The  account  of  Burr's  warlike  preparations  on  Blen- 
nerhassett's  Island,  sustained  as  it  was  by  reliable  witnesses 
and  accompanied  by  the  belated  anxiety  of  the  President, 
revolutionized  Ritchie's  ideas  regarding  the  purposes  of 
Burr's  expedition.  After  a  strange  somersault  the  Federal 
ists  and  the  Quids  could  now  see  no  cause  for  alarm  and 
quietly  prepared  themselves  for  Jefferson's  humiliation. 
They  now  used  the  mild  term,  "Burr's  Project,"  while 
Ritchie  spoke  of  "Burr's  Conspiracy"  and  pronounced  its 
author  the  "American  Cataline,"  whose  true  history  could 
be  written  only  by  a  Sallust.25  When  Wilkinson's  keen  scent 
for  the  course  of  events  finally  led  him  to  turn  state's  evi 
dence  and  testify  against  Burr,  the  Federalists  raised  the 
question,  "How  can  one  traitor  convict  another?"  Such 
taunts  did  not  disconcert  the  President  or  his  spokesman  in 
Richmond.  Whatever  they  may  have  thought  about  Wil 
kinson's  acceptance  of  a  commission  in  the  Spanish  army 
and  a  pension  from  the  Spanish  government,  while  he  yet 
held  a  commission  in  the  American  army,  they  now  extended 
to  him  a  safe  conduct  and  placed  in  him  their  chief  reliance 

24  Richmond  Enquirer,   September   5,   1806. 

25  Ibid.,  February  13,  1807. 


40  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

for  convicting  Burr,  who  was  already  in  Richmond  awaiting 
trial  in  John  Marshall's  court  on  the  charge  of  high 
treason.26 

For  the  Quids  and  the  Federalists  the  period  of  Burr's 
imprisonment  and  detention  in  Richmond  was  a  gala  time. 
The  Virginia  Gazette  pictured  him  as  a  patriot  foiled  in  an 
honest  attempt  to  fight  our  battles  with  S^pain  by  an  attack 
upon  Mexico.  We  had  extended  local  aid  to  Miranda  in  his 
filibustering  expeditions,  and  the  Federalists  saw  no  reason 
why  Burr  should  be  arraigned  as  a  traitor  for  a  similar  un 
dertaking.  They  stood  ready  to  furnish  bail  for  him  in  any 
sum.  He  was  awined  and  dined"  in  the  homes  of  the  "first 
families"  and  received  other  attentions  fit  for  a  conquering 
hero.  Although  he  was  to  preside  at  the  proposed  trial,  Mar 
shall  thought  it  no  desecration  of  his  high  office  to  dine  with 
Burr  at  the  home  of  his  chief  counsel,  John  Wickham.27 

Burr's  hospitable  treatment  in  Richmond  worried  Ritchie 
quite  as  much  as  it  did  Jefferson.  He  shared  the  President's 
distrust  in  Marshall,  and  could  not  therefore  set;  in  him  that 
"noble  candor"  and  those  "god-like  talents"  which  were  be 
ing  ascribed  to  him  by  others.  Although  he  occupied  a  place 
at  the  head  of  the  social  life  of  Richmond  and  was  lavish  in 
his  distribution  of  hospitality,  Ritchie  considered  Marshall's 
act  in  dining  with  Burr  a  reprehensible  and  willful  prostra 
tion  of  his  own  dignity  and  a  wanton  insult  to  his  country. 
When  partisan  feeling  was  willing  to  pay  court  to  a  traitor, 
he  thought  it  a  time  to  be  concerned  for  the  liberties  of  the 
country.28 

During  the  four  months  which  the  politicians  required  to 
find  out  that  Burr  was  not  guilty  of  treason,  the  Enquirer 
confined  itself  to  a  publication  of  the  court  proceedings  and 
scrupulously  refrained  from  comment  upon  them.  It  did  not 
even  side  with  the  President  in  his  controversy  with  the 
court.  It  would  be  difficult  to  say  that  its  refusal  to  do  so 

28  Richmond  Enquirer,   March    3,    1807. 

27 IUd.,  April   10,.  15,  1807. 

28  Ibid.,  April   10,   28,   1807;    IUd.,  May  8,   1807. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  41 

was  a  silent  disapproval  of  the  President's  refusal  to  testify 
before  John  Marshall.  The  verdict  came,  however,  as  a 
surprise  to  Ritchie.  Indeed,  he  refused  to  accept  it,  and  in 
sisted  that  Burr  was  guilty  at  heart  if  not  by  an  "overt  act." 
In  a  series  of  essays  entitled  "Cursory  Reflections"  he  at 
tempted  to  show  that  Burr  had  planned  the  separation  of 
the  West  from  the  East,  and  that  his  proposed  settlement  in 
Louisiana  was  only  a  temporary  device  to  conceal  his  ulterior 
purposes.  He  condemned  Marshall's  conduct  during  the 
trial  and  his  instructions  to  the  trial  jury  as  reprehensible. 
The  court  had  held  that  a  traitor  under  the  constitution  was 
p,  principal  in  levying  war  against  his  country  or  in  adher 
ing  to  its  enemies.  To  be  a  principal  the  court  had  also  held, 
in  this  case,  that  the  accused  had  to  be  present  at  the  time 
and  place  where  the  warlike  preparations  had  been  made. 
As  Burr  had  not  been  at  Blennerhassett's  Island  when  the 
alleged  treasonable  transactions  took  place,  there  was  noth 
ing  left  to  the  jury  but  a  verdict  of  acquittal.  But  Kitchie 
insisted  that  the  English  law,  upon  which  our  own  was  based, 
knew  no  accessories  or  seconds  in  crimes  of  treason.  Under 
such  a  ruling  as  that  of  Marshall  he  pointed  out  the  impos 
sibility  of  the  English  King's  levying  war  upon  his  subjects 
in  America,  since  he  had  never  been  here  in  person,  and 
concluded  therefore  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  a  lie  and  the  American  Revolution  a  misnomer.  In  the 
light  of  these  apparent  contradictions  he  demanded  Mar 
shall's  impeachment.29 

Meanwhile  our  relations  with  Great  Britain  and  France 
in  our  efforts  to  become  the  neutral  carriers  of  the  commerce 
of  warring  Europe  had  become  alarming.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  Napoleon  threatened  the  peace  of  the  world, 
and  that  the  French  vessels  vied  with  the  English  in  com 
mitting  depredations  upon  our  commerce,  Ritchie  shared 
the  common  prejudice  toward  England  and  placed  the  chief 
blame  upon  her.  Randolph's  fulminations  against  the  non- 

39  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  30,  1807;  Ibid.,  November,  3,  6, 
10,  17,  1807. 


42  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

intercourse  act  and  the  intensity  of  the  opposition  to  it, 
doubtless  heightened  his  hatred  for  the  mistress  of  the  seas. 
Like  Jefferson  he  did  not,  however,  regard  war  as  the  proper 
means  of  redress  in  dealing  with  either  nation.  The  battle 
of  Trafalgar  had  ended  the  power  of  France  upon  the  seas, 
and  he  now  thought  it  possible  to  starve  England  into  better 
treatment  for  American  seamen.  Accordingly  he  heartily 
endorsed  the  non-importation  act  with  Great  Britain.  De 
pendent  as  she  had  been  in  the  past,  he  felt  that  she  could 
not  now  operate  her  mills  without  raw  materials  from  Amer 
ica.  The  weavers  of  Springfield  had  been  thrown  into  dis 
tress  by  a  change  of  fashion  from  silk  to  muslin,  and  a  mil 
lion  workmen  had  been  thrown  out  of  employment  in  Shef 
field  and  Birmingham  by  a  change  from  buckles  and  metal 
buttons  to  strings  and  covered  buttons  for  shoes.  He  saw 
no  reason,  therefore,  why  the  withdrawal  of  25,000,000 
pounds  of  raw  cotton  would  not  effect  the  textile  industries 
and  bring  her  government  to  terms.30  Relying  upon  the 
policy  of  non-intercourse,  he  endorsed  the  President's  sum 
mary  disposal  of  Monroe's  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  be 
cause  it  had  not  safeguarded  the  rights  of  American  sea 
men.31 

The  attack  of  the  Leopard  upon  the  Chesapeake  aroused 
young  Ritchie's  maternal  fighting  blood  and  demonstrated 
the  futility  of  the  peace  policy  as  a  restraining  force  upon 
the  leaders  of  the  younger  generation  in  a  time  of  crisis. 
As  in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye  he  became  an  insurgent,  de 
manded  war,  and  even  found  a  commander  for  the  federal 
army  in  the  person  of  the  gallant  Moreau,  then  sojourning 
in  America.  An  "extra"  announced  the  news  of  the  attack 
and  summoned  the  people  of  Richmond  to  the  Capitol 
Square.  Though  confronted  by  a  vigorous  opposition  under 
the  leadership  of  Charleisi  Fenton  Mercer,  who  did  not  hold 
the  British  government  culpable  for  the  attack  upon  the 

so  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  18,  1805;  Ibid.,  February  25,  1806; 
Ibid.,  December  11,  1806. 

91  Ibid.,  March  10,  13,  1807. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  43 

Chesapeake,  Ritchie,  Roane,  and  Brockenborough  secured 
the  adoption  of  resolutions  which  pledged  the  lives  and  sacred 
honor  of  those  present  to  the  patriotic  duty  of  securing  jus 
tice.  A  later  report  brought  the  news  that  the  commander 
of  the  Leopard  was  blockading  Norfolk.  Without  waiting 
for  a  confirmation  of  this  report,  which  proved  to  be  false, 
Ritchie  deserted  his  young  bride  of  a  few  weeks,  turned  the 
management  of  the  Enquirer  over  to  a  friend,  and  should 
ered  his  musket  to  fight  with  the  "Republican  Blues"  in  the 
defence  of  his  country.32  He  requested  that  Congress  be 
called  immediately  in  extra  session  to  deliberate  upon  the 
means  of  enforcing  our  rights  and  of  extorting  reparation. 

The  President  was  not  moved  by  the  bellicose  demonsta- 
tions  in  Virginia  or  elsewhere  and  held  tenaciously  to  the 
peace  policy.  He  accepted  the  disavowal  of  the  British 
minister,  waited  patiently  to  hear  from  England,  and  set 
the  date  of  the  proposed  extra  session  three  months  hence. 
When  Congress  did  assemble  the  war  sentiment  had  sub 
sided,  but  the,  news  of  fresh  aggressions  from  England  and 
France,  and  of  the  enforcement  of  the  Berlin  Decrees  and 
the  British  Orders  in  Council  again  fanned  it  into  red  heat. 
Even  then  the  President  did  not  yield,  but  quietly  sent  to 
Congress  a  confidential  message  asking  for  an  embargo. 

Though  he  himself  preferred  war,  Ritchie  defended  the 
peace  policy  in  its  new  garb  with  all  the  zeal  of  a  partisan. 
The  embargo  was  his  only  alternative  to  war.  He  might 
and  doubtless  would  have  said  the  same  of  a  non-intercourse 
act,  had  it  been  deemed  adequate  to  meet  the  exigencies. 
On  the  contrary  the  Federalists  and  Randolph,  after  another 
queer  flip-flop,  now  opposed  the  embargo,  arguing  that  it  was 
partial  to  France,  that  it  would  bring  distress  and  bank 
ruptcy  to  business,  ruin  our  commerce  and  agriculture,  and 
bring  war  with  the  greatest  and  freest  nation  on  the  globe 
and  withal  our  best  friend,  Great  Britain.  Ritchie  de 
fended  the  embargo  by  practically  the  same  arguments  used 

32  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  1,  27,   1807. 


44  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

in  defence  of  the  non-importation  act,  but  now  insisted  upon 
the  necessity  for  a  patriotic  self-denial  even  at  the  expense 
of  agriculture  and  commerce.  He  likened  those  who  went 
to  Great  Britain  for  lessons  of  liberty  and  freedom  to  those 
benighted  souls  accustomed  to  consult  the  Lama  of  Thibet 
about  religion,  denounced  Randolph  as  "  the  veriest  slave 
alive  to  his  passions  and  antipathies/'  and  predicted  that  the 
petitions  then  being  prepared  in  London,  Manchester,  and 
Liverpool  against  the  operation  of  the  Orders  in  Council 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  British  tyranny.33  When 
the  expected  redress  did  not  come,  he  issued  a  declaration  of 
independence  based  upon  that  of  1776  setting  forth  our 
national  grievances  and  pledging  the  lives,  fortunes,  and 
sacred  honor  of  Virginia  to  maintain  the  embargo.34 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  in  view  of  his  subsequent  course, 
Ritchie  now  advocated  protection  for  American  manufac 
tures.  The  suspension  of  free  intercourse  with  England  had 
necessitated  the  erection  of  cotton  mills  in  the  North  and 
a  resort  to  domestic  manufacturing  in  the  South.  Under 
the  existing  conditions  it  became  evident  that  the  United 
States  could  be  made  a  self-sufficing  and  consequently  a 
truly  independent  nation.  But  every  one  kney7  that  a  re 
sumption  of  free  intercourse,  which  was  expected  to  follow 
the  repeal  of  the  embargo,  would  be  destructive  of  the  new 
born  industries  in  America.  Consequently  he  would  have 
preserved  the  beneficent  results  of  the  embargo  by  resort  to 
a  permanent  protective  tariff.  In  our  abundant  resources, 
mechanical  genius,  ample  supply  of  slave  labor,  rapidly 
accumulating  capital,  growing  tendencies  to  form  corpora 
tions,  and  the  rise  of  the  wool-growing  industry,  he  saw  all 
the  domestic  requirements  for  a  great  manufacturing  na 
tion.35  Accordingly  he  made  proud  mention  in  the  columns 
of  the  Enquirer  of  those  patriots  who  wore  homespun  and  de 
nominated  the  generally  accepted  belief  that  manufactures 

33  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  10,  1807. 
"Ibid.,  June  3,  IS08. 
KIUd.,  December  27,  1808. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  45 

could  be  made  to  flourish  only  in  a  densely  populated  coun 
try,  a  delusion  propagated  by  Great  Britain  to  aid  her  own 
selfish  interests.  His  views  on  the  subject  of  manufacturing 
were  ably  set  forth  in  "An  Address  to  the  People  of  Vir 
ginia"  signed  by  himself,  W.  H.  C'abell,  William  Wirt,  Wil 
liam  Foushee,  and  Peyton  Randolph.  His  enthusiasm  for 
protection  led  to  the  call  of  a  mass  meeting  in  Richmond 
which  petitioned  Congress  to  intervene  in  behalf  of  the  Amer 
ican  manufacturer. 

Ritchie's  interest  in  the  manufacturers  was,  however, 
due  mainly  to  a  desire  to  maintain  the  embargo  which  was 
now  being  attacked  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  As  has  been 
seen  it  was  his  only  alternative  to  war  or  submission.  Now 
he  had  an  additional  motive.  Repeal  meant  condemnation 
of  Jefferson's  pet  policy.  Nevertheless  a  hostile  Congress 
was  openly  defiant.  To  Ritchie  it  mattered  not  that  a  storm 
was  rising  in  the  East  where  the  shipping  interests  were 
suffering.  The  arm  of  the  federal  government  was  not  to 
be  palsied  by  "the  lowering  aspect  of  political  discontent," 
and  John  Randolph  and  his  band  of  blind  partisans  were  to 
be  given  no  opportunity  to  prostrate  the  nation  at  the  feet 
of  Great  Britain.  Finally  a  partial  repeal,  which  would  have 
permitted  trade  with  Spain  and  Portugal  only,  was  proposed 
as  a  compromise.  He  opposed  even  that.  In  such  a  step  he 
saw  the  virtual  repeal  of  the  embargo  itself,  because  it  would 
then  be  possible  for  Great  Britain  to  ship  her  goods  to  Spain 
and  Portugal  and  thence  by  reshipments  to  America.36  In 
a  vain  effort  to  counteract  the  tide  which  was  about  to  over 
whelm  the  administration  he  led  the  citizens  of  Richmond  in 
a  formal  protest  against  the  proposed  repeal,  but  Congress 
had  already  acted.  To  Ritchie's  great  gratification  it  had 
spared  the  President  the  deepest  humiliation  by  making  the 
repeal  operative  after  his  retirement  from  office.37  Even 
then  repeal  was  a  bitter  pill.  Henceforth  Ritchie  became  an 
insurgent  against  the  peace  policy  and  an  advocate  of  war. 

86  Richmond  Enquirer,   November    18,    1808. 

87  Ibid.,  March  3,  1809. 


46  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

\ 

The  operation  of  the  embargo  caused  the  New  Englanders 
to  "calculate  the  value"  of  the  Union.  A  spokesman,  John 
Park,  editor  of  the  Boston  Repertory,  had  gone  so  far  as  to 
recommend  that  the  states  of  that  section  take  "just,  honor 
able,  and  fair  ground"  in  setting  forth  their  grievances  and 
the  conditions  on  which  alone  the  Union  could  be  maintained. 
The  Force  Act,  which  provided  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
embargo,  caused  a  storm  of  protests  and  brought  concerted 
action  against  the  federal  government.  The  residents  of 
Bath  called  for  civil  war;  the  fishermen  of  Gloucester  pre 
pared  to  arm  themselves  in  defence  of  their  rights ;  Hadley 
expressed  the  belief  that  a  perseverance  in  the  hostility 
to  commerce,  which  arose  from  jealousy  of  New  England, 
would  dismember  the  Union.  In  brief,  New  England 
had  assumed  an  attitude  not  unlike  that  of  Virginia  in  1798. 

Ritchie's  response  to  the  anti-Union  sentiment  resembled 
the  response  of  New  England  at  a  later  period.  He  denomi 
nated  her  Essex  Junto,  a  hot-bed  of  treason,  and  warned  its 
adherents  that  the  South  would  not  stand  idly  by  and  see 
them  dismember  the  Union.  It  was  not  sufficient  that  they 
quoted  the  example  of  Virginia  in  1798  and  incorporated  the 
very  words  of  her  celebrated  resolutions  in  their  own.  He 
did  not  deny  the  right  of  a  state  to  interpose  to  arrest  a  breach 
of  the  constitution.  But  he  was  certain  that  the  embargo 
was  not  a  "palpable  and  dangerous"  exercise  of  power  not 
granted,  and  that  the  conditions  of,  1809  were  in  no  way 
similar  to  those  in  1798.  Besides  Virginia  had  protested  as 
a  sovereign  state,  whereas  New  England  proposed  to  speak 
as  a  geographical  section.38 

Meanwhile,  the  efforts  to  select  Jefferson's  successor  in 
the  presidency  gave  Ritchie  an  opportunity  to  develop  his 
political  instincts  and  to  give  evidence  of  those  abilities  which 
were  later  to  become  a  power  in  Virginia  politics.  In  the 
earliest  stages  of  the  campaign  he  had  opposed  the  pretensions 
of  the  heir  apparent.  His  attitude  toward  the  Yazoo  claim- 

88  Richmond  Enquirer,   January   24,    1809;    Ibid.,   April   4,    1809. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  47 

ants  caused  Kitchie  to  agree  with  the  Aurora  "that  no  vir 
tuous  republican  can  support  any  man  who  has  a  concern 
directly  or  indirectly  in  the  stupendous  scheme  of  plunder, 
or  who  is  a  supporter  thereof,  or  who  may  give  a  tacit  coun 
tenance  to  that  fraud."39  Then,  too,  the  presidency  had  been 
filled  sixteen  out  of  twenty  years  by  Virginians,  and  expe 
diency  demanded  that  it  should  go  to  another  state.  Accord 
ingly  he  and  Giles  had  favored  the  pretensions  of  George 
Clinton  of  New  York.40  But  the  defection  of  thejjiiids,  the 
uncertainties  connected  with  Burr's  conspiracy,  the  growing- 
strength  of  the  Federalists,  and  the  tactics  of  its  chief  trum 
peter,  W.  C.  Nicholas,  drove  them  into  the  Madisonian  band 
wagon.  At  no  time  did  Ritchie  look  kindly  upon  Monroe's 
candidacy.  On  the  contrary,  he  lost  no  opportunity  to  keep 
him  from  the  snares  of  the  Quids.  Upon  his  return  from 
England  in  December,  1807,  he  had  warned  him  against  the 
danger  of  building  for  the  future  upon  "the  trembling  ruins 
of  John  Randolph's  reputation."  On  January  21,  1808,  a 
largely  attended  caucus  of  the  Virginia  Assembly  nominated 
Madison  for  the  presidency,  while  a  smaller  caucus  placed 
Monroe  in  nomination  for  the  same  office.  Two  days  later  a 
congressional  caucus,  attended  by  eighty-three  senators  and 
representatives,  confirmed  the  action  of  Virginia  in  nomi 
nating  Madison,  which  was  the  work  of  Nicholas,  Ritchie, 
and  Giles.  The  next  issue  of  the  Enquirer  announced  the 
Republican  electoral  ticket,  and  expressed  surprise  at  the 
thought  of  opposition  to  it.41 

As  in  many  a  subsequent  case,  Ritchie's  expression  of 
surprise  at  the  presence  of  and  necessity  for  an  opposition 
meant  that  it  was  unusually  abundant.  Both  the  motives  and 
the  tactics  of  the  legislative  caucus  which  had  nominated 
Madison  were  soon  the  objects  of  a  severe  attack,  Over  the 
signature  "Opecancanaugh,"  Benjamin  W.  Leigh  charged 
that  W.  O.  Nicholas  had  gone  to  Congress  for  the  express 

89  Richmond   Enquirer,    October    7,    1806. 
*°  Ibid.,  April  21,  1826. 
41  Ibid.,   January   26,    1808. 


48  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

purpose  of  making  Madison  President,  and  that  the  letters 
from  Washington  which  had  appeared  with  such  regularity 
in  the  Enquirer  had  been  written  by  him  with  a  view  to 
shaping  the  political  sentiment  of  Virginia.  At  the  same 
time  "A  Constant  Reader,"  either  George  Hay,  who  was 
Monroe's  son-in-law,  or  John  Randolph,  assailed  the  political 
and  editorial  character  of  the  Enquirer,,  and  openly  accused 
its  editor  of  apostacy  to  the  Yazoo  thieves  and  of  subservi 
ency  to  the  administration.42 

Ritchie  was  never  more  at  home  than  when  resenting 
attacks  upon  his  political  record  and  methods,  and  was  con 
sequently  now  ready  with  a  reply.  He  denied  the  use  of  un 
fair  tactics  in  the^  state  legislative  caucus  which  had  nomi 
nated  Madison,  but  said  not  a  word  about  Nicholas'  purpose 
in  going  to  Congress  or  about  his  alleged  connection  with  the 
Enquirer.  As  at  all  times  he  could  not  be  induced  to  defend 
the  Yazoo  claims,  but  he  could  not  see  in  them  an  Aaron's 
rod  to  swallow  up  the  just  claims  of  an  able  and  upright  man 
to  the  presidency.  He  now  took  a  turn  which  is  one  of  the 
most  unique  in  his  whole  political  record.  Formerly  he  had 
diverted  the  censure  of  the  anti- Yazoo  men  from  Jefferson 
to  Madison.  Now  he  sought  to  place  it  wholly  upon  Gallatin, 
in  whom  the  discontented  saw  no  guile.  Frequent  mention 
was  made  of  the  fact  that  Gallatin  had,  as  one  of  a  commis 
sion  of  three  with  Madison  and  Levi  Lincoln,  prepared  the 
report  upon  which  the  Yazoo  claims  were  based.  It  was  true 
that  Madison  had  made  a  grave  political  blunder  in  signing 
the  report,  but  the  point  was  now  made  that  he  had  simply 
deferred  to  Gallatin's  judgment.43 

After  the  nominations  for  the  presidency  had  all  been 
made,  Ritchie  entertained  little  fear  of  the  Federalists  and 
the  Quids.  Except  a  few  "sly  bodies"  which  crept  into  the 
c6lumns  of  the  Norfolk  Ledger  or  a  "blushing  rose"  which 
occasionally  adorned  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Courier,  he 
noted  with  delight  that  Federalism  had  practically  disap- 

43  Richmond   Enquirer,   February   11,    1808;    Ibid.,   March    1,    1808. 
"Ibid.,  February  11,  1808. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  49 

peared  in  the  Southland.  The  Quids  confined  their  activi 
ties  to  North  Carolina  and  to  eastern  Virginia,  and  were  at 
no  time  formidable.  Each  of  the  opposition  parties  cared 
more  for  party  success  than  for  party  principles.  Ritchie's 
only  cause  of  alarm  came  from  the  interest  and  the  alleged 
activity  of  the  British  in  the  campaign.  In  their  co-opera 
tion  with  the  Essex  Junto  to  defeat  Madison,  he  saw  a  menace 
not  to  the  Republican  party  but  to  the  whole  country.  Suc 
cess  in  that  event  would  be  followed  by  an  attempt  to  dis 
member  the  Union.  He  found,  therefore,  more  than  the  joy 
of  a  partisan  in  Madison's  election,  and  it  afforded  him  an 
exquisite  pleasure  to  stand  by  the  side  of  his  old  friend, 
Henry  Clay,  to  see  their  common  choice  take  the  oath  which 
made  him  President.44 

After  the  contest  had  ended,  an  incident  of  the  campaign 
was  revived  and  occasioned  an  interesting  exchange  of  per 
sonalities  which  threw  light  upon  the  political  conditions  in 
Virginia  and  revived  some  of  her  history.  In  an  effort  to 
force  Colonel  John  Taylor  of  Caroline  into  line  for  the  regu 
lar  nominee  of  the  Republican  party,  the  non-suspecting 
young  editor  of  the  Enquirer  had  commented  upon  the  fact 
that,  unlike  most  of  the  prominent  men  who  had  formerly 
supported  Monroe,  Taylor  was  not  then,  September,  1808, 
supporting  Madison.  The  true  cause  of  this  defection,  the 
nationalistic  tendencies  of  the  times,  was  overlooked,  and  it 
was  intimated  that  Colonel  Taylor  had  sustained  "private 
griefs"  at  the  hands  of  the  administration.  In  a  private 
letter  Taylor  protested  against  the  unauthorized  use  of  his 
name  in  a  public  print,  and  denied  that  he  had  ever  asked  or 
expected  any  favors  of  Jefferson.  The  matter  would  proba 
bly  have  rested  there,  had  not  friends  prevailed  upon  Colonel 
Taylor's  son  to  permit  the  publication  of  his  father's  letter 
in  The  Spirit  of  '76,  which  was  then  edited  by  one  of  Ritchie's 
personal  enemies.  It  now  became  necessary  for  the  public  to 
hear  the  whole  story. 

**  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  10,  1852. 


50  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

In  a  paternal  and  philosophical  manner  peculiar  to  him 
self  and  characteristic  of  the  attitude  of  the  older  toward  the 
younger  school  of  Virginia  politicians,  Taylor  warned  Ritchie 
against  the  danger  and  folly  of  appropriating  to  himself 
undue  credit  for  Madison's  success  and  of  posing  as  an  arbiter 
of  public  merit.  He  was  certain  that  the  public  would  never 
permit  an  insignificant  editor  to  squirt  his  filth  like  a  Hot 
tentot  conjurer,  nor  would  it  kiss  the  rod  of  a  pedagogue. 
He  saw  in  Ritchie  only  a  demagogue  intoxicated  by  flattery 
and  goaded  into  error  by  partisan  zeal.  He  saw  no  future 
for  him  as  an  editor,  and  predicted  that  his  glowing  editorials, 
"like  glass  beads,  painted  in  gaudy  colors  to  dazzle  and  cheat 
ignorance,"  would  in  due  time  be  accepted  at  their  true 
worth. 

But  the  Sage  of  Carolina  had  met  his  match  in  the  use 
of  invective  and  sarcasm.  To  this  generally  recognized 
"quibbler"  and  "sophist"  Ritchie  was  willing  to  accord  the 
privilege  of  railing,  the  prerogative  of  monks  and  women, 
but  he  would  not  permit  any  one  to  assail  the  high  calling 
and  permanent  usefulness  of  the  teacher  and  the  editor.  They 
were  each  essential  to  the  life  and  purity  of  a  republic. 
Ritchie  was  not  content,  however,  to  deal  in  mere  personali 
ties.  With  the  ardor  of  youth  he  attacked  the  record  of  his 
venerable  assailant.  He  openly  accused  him  of  being  the 
original  Quid,  of  leading  John  Randolph  into  schism,  of 
directing  the  attacks  upon  Madison  from  garbled  extracts 
from  the  Federalist,  and  of  willfully  absenting  himself  from 
the  polls  in  November,  1808.  He  was  the  one  of  whom  "the 
world  was  telling  sad  stories."  Despite  the  fact  that  Ritchie 
had  recommended  him  for  the  premiership  in  the  new 
administration,  in  case  it  was  not  offered  to  Giles,  he  now 
admitted  that  Taylor  had  not  sought  office,  but  he  insisted, 
nevertheless,  that  he  was  green  with  envy  and  jealousy. 
To  heighten  the  ravages  of  these  mental  diseases,  Ritchie 
tauntingly  added  that  Taylor's  Resolutions  of  '98  had  not 
been  half  so  favorably  received  as  had  been  Madison's  Re 
port  of  '99. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  51 

Colonel  Taylor's  reply  revealed  the  fact  that  there  were 
things  which  the  older  politicians  had  not  revealed  even  to 
their  chosen  spokesman.  To  his  great  surprise,  Ritchie  now 
learned  that  Madison  had  written  the  Resolutions  of  '98  as 
well  as  the  Report  which  followed,  and  that  a  man's  politics 
were  not  necessarily  good  or  bad  according  to  whether  or  not 
he  read  the  Enquirer.  Taylor  had  read  the  Federalist  upon 
the  suggestion  of  Ritchie,  and  had  never  used  them  or  any 
thing  else  in  alienating  Randolph's  affections  from  Madison. 
Ritchie  was  also  surprised  to  learn  that  it  was  Jefferson  him 
self  who  had  first  informed  Colonel  Taylor  about  the  threat 
ened  schism  within  the  administration  party.  Doubt  about 
the  propriety  of  voting  for  himself  as  an  elector  upon  the 
Monroe  ticket,  and  the  conviction  that  opposition  was  futile 
as  well  as  needless,  had  kept  him  from  the  polls  in  November, 
1S08.45  His  later  replies  took  the  form  of  philosophical 
essays.46  They  protested  against  the  centralizing  tendencies 
of  the  federal  government  and  against  either  war  or  non- 
intercourse  with  England.  He  insisted  that  the  latter  was 
ruining  American  commerce,  and  ridiculed  the  audacity  of 
those  who  would  win  the  liberty  of  the  seas  by  "an  expedi 
tion  to  the  North  Pole  (Canada)." 

No  quantity  of  metaphysical  writing  could  convince 
Ritchie  that  Taylor  was  not  a  conceited  sophist  whose  ab 
surdities  were  worthy  only  of  ridicule,  and  that  he  had  not 
been  the  original  Quid.  For  a  time  all  friendly  intercourse 
between  them  was  suspended  as  a  result  of  the  personalities 
exchanged  on  this  occasion. 

Ritchie  sympathized,  nevertheless,  with  Taylor's  attacks 
upon  the  new  nationalism,  which  was  now  demonstrating 
itself  in  many  ways,  and  particularly  in  a  movement  for  the 
recharter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  As  the  first  bank 
had  approached  a  natural  death  Gallatin,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  had  recommended  a  recharter.  Now  that  Jef 
ferson  had  made  his  official  exit  and  that  the  Bank  of  Vir- 

45  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  14,  1809. 

46  These  essays  were  published  in  pamphlet  form. 


52  THOMAS  RITCHH 

ginia  was  in  successful  operation,  Ritchie  was  free  to  pro 
test  against  the  proposed  recharter  on  constitutional  grounds. 
Gallatin's  former  intimacy  with  Randolph  had  not  been  for 
given,  and  Ritchie  now  objected  to  acknowledging  him  as 
"the  pope  of  the  constitution."  Besides  the  political  activity 
of  the  federal  bank  and  its  predilection  for  things  European 
had  rendered  it  dangerous.  Then,  too,  a  recharter  might 
pave  the  way  to  other  things  national:  roads,  canals,  and 
schools.  A  federal  bank  was  also  unnecessary  so  long  as  there 
were  specie  paying  state  banks  which  could  be  used  for  de 
positories  for  federal  moneys  and  as  mediums  for  regulating 
the  currency.  That  the  Bank  of  Virginia  might  serve  these 
ends,  Ritchie  and  Dr.  Brockenbrough  united  their  energies  in 
a  successful  effort  to  increase  its  capital  stock  and  to  establish 
tributary  banks  in  the  leading  towns  of  the  state. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  53 

CHAPTEE  III. 

NATIONALISM   AND   PARTICULARISM. 

Like  his  predecessor  in  the  presidency,  Madison  loved 
peace  and  was  willing  to  secure  it  by  any  slow  process  of 
law  or  negotiation.  What  seemed  to  be  a  triumph  for  his 
ideas  and  policies  came,  when,  after  repeated  conferences 
with  Erskine,  the  British  minister  to  the  United  States,  he 
was  able  to  issue  a  proclamation  repealing  the  embargo  and 
non-intercourse  acts  against  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies 
after  June  10,  1809.  On  that  date  more  than  a  thousand 
ships,  already  loaded  and  anxiously  waiting  the  signal  for 
flight,  spread  their  wings  and,  like  a  flock  of  long-imprisoned 
birds,  flew  to  the  sea.  Congress  had  met  in  extra  session  on 
May  22d  to  prepare  for  war,  but  the  President  was  then  able 
to  assure  it  that  there  would  be  no  war,  that  foreign  inter 
course  would  speedily  be  restored,  that  domestic  tranquillity 
would  again  smile  upon  the  land,  that  the  gun-boats  would 
be  laid  up,  and  that  the  militia  had  been  discharged.  Dur 
ing  this  brief  period  of  enthusiasm  he  was  the  most  popular 
man  in  the  country.  True,  it  was  a  Federalist  triumph,  but 
the  demands  for  peace  were  so  urgent  that  it  brought  joy 
to  Republicans  also,  who  now  joined  with  the  Federalists  in 
proclaiming  Madison  the  superior  to  Jefferson  in  statesman 
ship  and  diplomacy. 

Since  the  attack  of  the  Leopard  upon  the  Chesapeake, 
when  he  had  shouldered  his  musket  and  marched  to  Norfolk, 
Ritchie  had  been  an  insurgent  and  in  favor  of  war  as  the 
only  means  of  redress  for  the  wrongs  and  indignities  heaped 
upon  us  by  Great  Britain.  Nor  was  he  now  carried  away 
by  the  temporary  prospect  for  peace.  In  the  promised  suc 
cess  of  the  Spanish  uprising  against  the  power  of  Napoleon 
he  saw  a  menace  to  our  peace  with  England.  With  no  ally 
except  the  "corrupt  and  selfish"  English  cabinet,  with  the 
foot  of  the  lion  of  Europe  upon  her  neck,  and  with  no 


54  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Kosciusko  to  lead  her  patriots  he  had  at  first  feared  that 
the  fate  of  Poland  would  be  that  of  Spain.  But,  when  suc 
cess  finally  came  as  the  result  of  British  aid,  he  saw  that  the 
markets  of  Spain  and  of  her  colonies  would  at  once  be  opened 
to  British  trade  and  that  the  mistress  of  the  seas  would  be 
no  longer  dependent  upon  the  United  States  for  her  raw 
materials  and  foods  stuffs,  if  indeed  she  ever  had  been.  As 
early  as  January,  1809,  he  had  noticed  that  the  riots  in 
Manchester  were  ceasing  and  that  British  seamen,  conscious 
of  their  independence,  were  constantly  assuming  a  more 
defiant  attitude  toward  American  commerce.1 

The  course  of  events  fully  justified  Ritchie's  contentions. 
By  a  new  order  in  council,  that  of  April  26,  1809,  the  pre 
vious  order  of  November  11,  1807,  was  revoked,  but  the 
ports  of  Holland,  France  and  Italy  were  declared  to  be 
blockaded.  Shortly  afterward,  Canning  repudiated  Erskine's 
arrangement  with  Madison,  whereby  the  latter  had  been 
induced  to  revoke  the  embargo  and  non-intercourse  acts, 
and  Erskine  was  himself  recalled.  Then  there  came  as  his 
successor  the  haughty  and  despotic  Jackson  with  his  servants, 
horses,  and  carriages  and  a  set  of  instructions  which  would 
have  justified  the  United^States  in  a  declaration  of  war.  His 
subsequent  conduct,  together  with  a  renewal  of  the  depreda 
tions  upon  our  commerce  came  near  precipitating  war  with 
both  England  and  France,  and  when  Congress  met  again  in 
extra  session  on  November  27,  18*09,  the  whole  country  was 
in  a  turmoil. 

Ritchie  urged  Congress  to  use  decisive  measures.  He 
defended  Madison's  summary  refusal  to  continue  intercourse 
with  Jackson  and  demanded  the  recall  of  Wm.  Pinkney,  our 
minister  to  England,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  guilty  of 
coquetting  with  British  royalty.  As  the  reports  of  depreda 
tions  upon  our  commerce  multiplied,  he  asked  for  letters  of 
marque  and  reprisal,  as  the  only  means  of  defence  for  our 
merchant  marine.  The  time  seemed  opportune  to  strike. 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  12,  26,  1808;  Ibid.,  October  7,  1808; 
Ibid.,  January  12,  1809. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  55 

The  British  fleet  then  stood  foiled  in  the  Scheldt ;  her  troops 
were  being  driven  from  Portugal ;  France  ignored  her  paper 
blockade ;  and  her  greatest  ally,  Austria,  lay  prostrated.2 

As  early  as  May,  1810,  Ritchie  saw  a  solution  of  the 
perplexing  problems  growing  out  of  our  foreign  relations 
only  in  the  election  of  a  progressive  and  patriotic  Congress 
which  would  not  hesitate  to  defend  the  national  honor  and 
interests  by  a  declaration  of  war.  The  "imbecility"  of  the 
tenth  and  the  eleventh  Congresses  disgusted  him.3  The 
former  had  repealed  the  embargo,  and  the  latter  had 
"piddled"  with  the  "Macon  Bills'7  and  revived  the  cowardly 
policy  of  non-intercourse  with  England.  It  was  plainly  one 
of  those  congestions  which  have  frequently  appeared  in  our 
history  and  lingered  until  relieved  by  a  free  and  independent 
use  of  the  suffrage.  It  has  always  necessitated  a  complete 
change  in  the  personnel  of  those  in  authority.  The  follow--^ 
ing  directions  to  the  voters,  accompanied  by  denunciation 
of  John  Randolph  and  the  peace  loving  Federalists,  appeared 
in  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer  on  the  eve  of  the  election  of  • 
that  memorable  twelfth  Congress.  They  leave  no  doubt 
about  Ritchie's  remedies  for  the  situation. 

"Take  40  grains  of  virtue,  principally  of  that  sort  called 
disinterestedness,  and  30  grains  of  firmness,  which  is  dis 
tinguished  by  a  man's  thinking  for  himself  and  doing  what 
he  thinks  right — blend  these  with  a  portion  of  talents  and  a 
sufficiency  of  eloquence,  and  you  have  a  composition  some 
thing  like  an  American  representative."4 

Ritchie's  sentiments  were  those  which  actuated  the  voters 
in  the  newer  parts  of  the  Union.  Filled  with  a  consuming 
hatred  for  England,  "the  young  men,"  the  generation  born 
after  the  Revolution,  came  forward  to  assert  and,  if  neces 
sary,  to  fight  for  a  more  complete  independence.  The  result 
was  a  political  revolution.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  forty- 
two  men  who  sat  in  the  eleventh  Congress,  sixty-one  were  not 

2  Richmond   Enquirer,   December    19,    1809;    Ibid,    June    12,    1810; 
Ibid.,  July  17,  1809. 

3  Ibid.,  May  15,  1810;   Ibid.,  July  4,  1810. 

4  Ibid.,   September    7,    1810. 


56  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

returned  to  the  twelfth.  On  the  roll  of  the  new  House  were 
some  of  the  most  illustrious  men  who  have  appeared  in  our 
history,  men  who  for  years  to  come  were  to  control  national 
legislation  and  administration,  lead  parties,  and  rival  each 
other  for  the  honor  of  a  residence  in  the  White  House. 
Among  the  young  "war  hawks"  were  Henry  Clay,  John 
Caldwell  Calhoun,  Richard  M.  Johnson,  Felix  Grundy, 
i  Langdon  Cheves,  George  M.  Troup,  and  Peter  B.  Porter. 

Practically  all  the  states  held  their  congressional  elections 
hefore  Virginia,  hers  coming  in  April  of  the  odd  years. 
Accordingly  Ritchie  and  his  friends  felt  it  incumbent  upon 
them  to  place  her  in  line  with  the  states  of  the  West  and 
the  South,  which  had  responded  so  nobly  to  the  new  born 
spirit  of  independence  by  sending  insurgents  to  Washington. 
To  them  it  meant  more  than  a  mere  effort  to  keep  abreast 
with  the  times.  Virginia's  power  and  prestige  among  the 
states  was  at  stake.  Thus  a  vain  effort  was  made  to  defeat 
the  Quids — Randolph  and  Gray,  and  the  Federalists — • 
Breckenridge,  Sheffey,  Lewis,  Baker,  and  Wilson,  for  a 
re-election.  Notwithstanding  his  failure  and  what  it  meant 
to  Virginia  in  a  loss  of  influence,  Ritchie  readily  acquiesced 
in  the  results  and  magnanimously  welcomed  into  public  life 
Calho'un  and  Clay,  the  youthful  leaders  upon  whom  the 
scepter  of  power  had  fallen.  Though  he  later  came  to  fear 
and  distrust  Calhoun  and  was  a  power  in  keeping  him  from 
the  coveted  presidency,  Ritchie  now  saw  in  him  "one  of  those 
master  spirits,  who  stamp  their  name  upon  the  age  in  which 
they  live."5  His  only  regret  was  that  this  "promising  South 
Carolinian"  was  not  a  Virginian. 

After  giving  effective  aid  in  the  election  of  a  Congress 
which  could  be  trusted  to  guard  the  welfare  of  the  nation 
Ritchie  began  a  crusade  upon  the  executive  department  of 
the  federal  government  in  an  effort  to  relieve  it  of  its  dead 
wood.  Nothing  was  to  be  expected  of  a  "President  de  jure" 
under  the  influence  of  a  cabal  composed  of  such  "weaklings" 
as  William  Duane,  Michael  Leib,  and  Robert  and  Samuel 

B  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  24,   1811. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  57 

Smith.  As  a  protest  against  the  feebleness  of  the  chief 
executive  Gallatin,  the  only  man  of  talent  among  Madison's 
advisers,  was  on  the  point  of  resigning  his  place  in  the 
Cabinet.  It  was  an  intolerable  condition  and  the  ties  of 
friendship  or  locality  did  not  shield  the  venerable  President 
from  condemnation  in  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer.  When 
Madison  was  finally  made  to  see  the  light,  Ritchie  approved 
few  of  his  proposed  remedies.  He  agreed  that  Smith's  incom 
petence  rendered  his  services  as  secretary  of  state  valueless, 
but  he  desired  neither  Gallatin  nor  Monroe,  Madison's  first 
and  second  choices,  to  succeed  him.  They  each  had  talents, 
but  their  former  affiliations  with  Randolph  rendered  them 
objectionable  to  a  "died  in  the  wool"  Republican.6  Ritchie 
would  have  preferred  Calhoun  or  Clay  for  this  high  honor. 

Like  many  of  the  best  movements  in  the  ante-bellum  his 
tory  of  Virginia  the  war  sentiment  of  1812  took  form  in  her 
western  counties  and  gradually  extended  itself  to  the  Low 
lands,  where  it  found  a  ready  exponent  in  the  Enquirer. 
As  if  in  protest  against  the  attitude  of  the  New  England 
Federalists  the  eighth  regiment  of  militia,  in  mass-meeting 
assembled  at  Lexington,  had  early  expressed  a  desire  to 
buckle  on  the  "armor  of  the  nation"  and  to  fight  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  or  in  the  wilds  of  Canada.7  Others 
gave  expression  to  their  militant  feelings  in  petitions  to  the 
Assembly,  which  was  finally  induced  to  adopt  a  resolution 
calling  for  war.8  Shortly,  thereafter  the  citizens  of  Rich 
mond,  under  the  direction  of  Ritchie  and  Spencer  Roane, 
assembled  in  mass  meeting  to  consider  our  foreign  relations 
and  to  strengthen  the  courage  of  the  President,  then  on  the 
point  of  abandoning  his  traditional  peace  policy.9  Promi 
nent  among  the  leaders  of  the  war  movement  were  also: 
William  Wirt,  Geo.  Hay,  Samuel  Pleasants,  P.  N".  Nicholas, 
William  Foushee,  Peyton  Randolph,  P.  V.  Daniel,  and 
Dr.  Brockenbrough. 

8  Richmond  Enquirer,  May   10,   1811;   Ibid.,  April   16,   26,   1812. 

7  Ibid.,  January  4,   1812. 

8  Ibid.,  February  6,  1812. 

9  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  3,  1812. 


58  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Both  Giles  and  Randolph  had  seen  the  handwriting  on 
the  wall.  Without  seeking  a  re-election  the  former  had 
retired  to  the  "woods  and  vales"  of  Amelia,  while  the  latter, 
in  a  long  letter  addressed  to  his  constituents,  tried  to  defend 
his  course  in  Congress  and  to  allay  the  rapidly  increasing  war 
sentiment.  Though  Giles'  presence  in  the  Senate  was  of 
no  particular  advantage  to  the  country  and  of  none  to 
Virginia,  since  he  had  put  himself  out  of  harmony  with 
the  administration  and  drawn  about  himself  "a  cloud  of  sus 
picion  which  all  his  eloquence  and  ingenuity  could  not 
dispel,"  Ritchie  sarcastically  reminded  him  in  his  "Letters 
from  the  Simple  to  the  Great"  that  "those  who  are  not  for 
us  are  against  us."10  He  now  found  a  suitable  position  for 
Randolph  as  the  "chief  horuspex"  in  a  proposed  college  of 
Augurs  to  be  modeled  after  that  of  ancient  Rome  and  to  be 
an  oracle  for  "grannies"  and  the  feeble  hearted.  As  a  last 
resort  Randolph  tried  to  show  that  there  was  as  much  reason 
for  a  declaration  of  war  upon  France  as  upon  England  and 
that  Napoleon  was  using  the  United  States  to  further  his  own 
selfish  ambitions.  Ritchie  denied  positively  that  we  were  being 
offered' up  as  an  idolatrous  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  French 
rapacity,  perfidy,  and  ambition  and  insisted  that  those  who 
favored  war — Macon,  Crawford,  Troup,  Bibb,  Lowndes, 
Cheves,  Grundy,  Calhoun,  and  Clay,  were  not,  as  was 
claimed,  the  minions  of  France  but  the  honest  and  patriotic 
representatives  of  enraged  constituency.11 

Though  the  Virginians  were  no  longer  the  leaders  in 
Congress,  the  formal  declaration  of  war  upon  Great  Britain 
was  a  signal  triumph  for  Ritchie.  Henry  Clay  was  among 
the  first  to  congratulate  him  upon  the  event  and  to  thank 
him  for  his  part  in  bringing  it  about.12  Ritchie  himself 
hailed  war  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  and  implored  God  to 
let  fall  the  lightning  of  the  nation  upon  the  editors  of  the 
Baltimore  Republican,  the  Boston  Repertory,  and  all  others 

10  Richmond   Enquirer,   May   22,    1812. 

11  Ibid.,  February  6,   1812;   Ibid.,  June   12,   1812. 
™Ibid.,    September    10,    1852. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  59 

who  deserted  their  country  in  its  time  of  need.  In  his 
support  of  an  agressive  war  he  spoke  simply  for  that  spirit 
of  nationalism  and  independence,  then  abroad  in  the  land, 
which  he  believed  would  carry  us  as  conquerors  into  Canada 
and  bring  about  the  annexation  of  that  country  to  our  own.13 
His  brothers,  John  and  Archibald,  now  atoned  for  whatever 
of  Toryism  may  have  lingered  about  the  home  of  the  Ritchies 
in  1776  by  accepting  commissions  in  the  regular  army.14 
The  former  lost  his  life  while  gallantly  fighting  on  the  plains 
of  Bridgewater,  and  the  latter  rendered  distinguished  ser 
vices  in  the  campaign  about  Norfolk.  The  records  show 
that  Thomas  Ritchie  himself  received  pay  for  services  in 
this  war,  and  in  1827  the  state  of  Virginia  in  recognition 
of  the  distinguished  services  of  Captain  John  Ritchie  pre 
sented  a  sword  to  his  heirs.  As  editor  of  the  Enquirer, 
Thomas  Ritchie's  energies  were  untiring  in  efforts  to  arouse 
the  valor  of  his  countrymen,  to  encourage  the  soldiers  under 
difficulties  and  dangers,  to  nerve  and  stimulate  them  to  noble 
achievements  and  to  laud  and  chronicle  their  deeds.  He  had 
always  looked  upon  the  federal  government  mainly  as  an 
instrument  for  combining  the  resources  of  the  whole  country 
in  efforts  to  withstand  foreign^  enemies.  Therefore  the 
refusal  of  the  New  Englanders  to  permit  their  state  militia 
to  pass  under  the  command  of  the  President  was,  to  say  the 
least,  a  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  federal  compact.  He 
urged  a  united  and  patriotic  defence  on  the  part  of  the 
whole  country  and  advised  the  New  Englanders  to  impeach 
the  President,  if  they  thought  him  incompetent  to  command 
the  army,  rather  than  desert  their  common  country.15 

The  times  are  few  during  the  period  of  actual  hostilities 
when  Ritchie  was  satisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  the  war 
was  conducted,  but  they  are  fewer  still  when  he  despaired  of 
ultimate  success.  Man  to  man  and  gun  to  gun  he  was  cer 
tain  that  the  tried  red  coats  were  no  match  for  the  American 

i 

^Richmond  Enquirer,  June  23,  1812;  IUd.,  July  21,  1812. 

14  Ibid.,  May  29,  1827. 

15  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  10,  1812. 


60  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

volunteers.  He  was  equally  certain  that  the  generous  prin 
ciples  which  animated  the  breast  of  free  men  contending  for 
their  country,  her  rights  and  her  independence,  would  prove 
"too  powerful  for  the  mercenary  principles  of  the  hired 
slaves,"  who  composed  a  large  part  of  the  British  army.  In 
the  incompetency  of  Dr.  Eustice,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
Ritchie  saw  a  greater  cause  of  Hull's  defeat  before  Detroit 
than  the  incompetency  of  that  general,  and  he  manfully 
placed  the  blame  where  it  belonged — to  an  unwise  use  of 
the  appointive  power.  In  adhering  to  the  tendency,  as  old 
as  the  government  itself,  to  parcel  out  the  loaves  and  fishes 
of  office  without  regard  to  the  ability  and  peculiar  fitness 
of  the  appointees,  he  saw  the  most  fatal  blunder  of  Madison's 
whole  administration.  To  his  mind  there  was  just  as  much 
reason  for  choosing  the  Secretary  of  War,  or  any  other  offi 
cial,  by  the  color  of  his  eyes  or  the  length  of  his  nose  as 
by  the  place  of  his  domicile.16 

It  was  with  keen  disappointment  that  Ritchie  announced 
the  surrender  of  Napoleon  and  his  banishment  to  Elba.17 
That  the  greatest  warrior  of  the  age  should  become  an 
humble  sovereign  and  the  recipient  of  the  bounties  of  his 
enemies  was  revolting  to  him.  Besides,  he  now  saw  that  the 
war  dogs  of  England  would  be  turned  upon  America.  Al 
though  negotiations  to  end  the  war  were  in  progress,  he 
warned  his  countrymen  against  the  siren  voice  of  peace, 
contending  that  the  British  would  concede  nothing  until  the 
fate  of  their  expedition  to  our  southern  states  had  been  deter 
mined.  In  the  hostile  tone  of  the  British  press,  in  the 
presence  of  armed  vessels  in  our  waters,  and  in  the  arrival 
of  Wellington's  tried  veterans  upon  our  shores  he  saw  no 
harbingers  of  peace.  In  a  sort  of  ultimatum  to  Congress  he 
demanded  an  aggressive  continuation  of  the  war,  and,  yet 
hopeful  of  winning  Canada,  he  made  bold  to  suggest  that 

16  Ritchie    Manuscripts.      Thomas    Ritchie    to    Archibald    Eitchie, 
September  1,  1812,  and  August  31,  1813. 
"Richmond  Enquirer,  June   11,   1814. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  61 

the  scenes  of  operations  be  carried  from  the  gates  of  Home 
to  the  gates  of  Carthage.18 

The  rumors  of  peace  which  found  their  way  from  Ghent, 
where  negotiations  to  that  end  were  in  progress,  made  little 
impression  upon  Ritchie,  so  firmly  did  he  believe  that  the 
British  meant  to  continue  the  war.  In  the  white  flag  sighted 
off  Cape  May  he  saw  only  "a  hoax,  an  invitation  to  traitors 
to  furnish  the  enemy  with  provisions."  At  length  the  dis 
appointing  treaty  arrived,  and  denial  of  the  facts  was  no 
longer  possible.19 

Ritchie  accepted  peace  with  a  gratitude  intermingled 
with  shame  and  humiliation,  but  found  solace  for  his 
wounded  feelings  in  urging  a  continuation  of  preparations 
for  war.  He  firmly  believed  that  "as  long  as  America  pre 
serves  a  name  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth,  she  would 
be  opposed  by  a  foe,  haughty  and  cruel,  and  more  faithless 
than  Carthage."  Already  there  were  rumors  of  British 
designs  upon  Florida  and  the  Northwest  Territory.  Our 
only  security  lay,  therefore,  in  a  strong  navy.  To  this  end 
Ritchie  favored  the  construction  of  two  "seventy-fours"  and 
four  "Guerriers"  annually.  In  our  second  war  for  inde 
pendence  experience  had  proved  the  value  of  a  navy,  and 
Ritchie  now  insisted-  that  further  delay  in  building  men- 
of-war  was  as  suicidal  as  it  was  unnecessary.  The  South 
abounded  in  naval  stores  and  live  oak;  the  West  furnished 
cordage  and  canvass ;  and  the  North  had  sailors  "who  would 
not  give  up  the  ship." 

From  Jefferson  and  Madison,  Ritchie  had  come  a  long- 
way  in  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  a  time  of  peace  is  a 
time  to  prepare  for  war,20  but  a  vast  gulf  lay  between  the 
generation  for  which  he  now  spoke  and  that  for  which  he 
had  formerly  spoken.  Born  in  the  midst  of  the  Revolution 
and  reared  in  an  atmosphere  of  hatred  to  England  he  now 
spoke  for  himself.  It  was  plainly  a  time  to  venerate  the 
name  and  the  deeds  of  "the  fathers"  but  not  to  follow  them. 

18  Richmond  Enquirer,   September  7,   14,   18,  21,   1814. 

19  Ibid.,   February  22,   1815;   Ibid.,  March  25,   1815. 

20  Ibid.,  May  20,   1815;   Ibid.,  October   11,   1815. 


62  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

The  attitude  of  the  New  Englanders  toward  the  war 
and  the  utterances  of  some  of  their  leading  prints  and 
statesmen  regarding  it,  caused  the  Enquirer  to  assume  a 
tone  not  unlike  that  of  the  northern  prints  in  18*60.  The 
"Holy  Union"  was  now  as  dear  to  Ritchie  as  athe  ruddy 
drops  that  warm  our  hearts."  It  was  our  "pillar  of  Peace, 
our  Safety,  our  Prosperity."  Without  it  he  saw  a  country 
divided,  belligerent,  with  its  borders  stained  by  the  blood 
of  its  own  citizens  as  had  been  the  borders  of  the  Grecian 
states,  England  and  Scotland,  France  and  Holland,  Austria 
and  Prussia.  Under  such  conditions  a  contest  for  self- 
preservation  would  inevitably  follow ;  standing  armies  would 
appear;  demagogues  and  usurpers  would  be  unscrupulous; 
and  vassalage  upon  a  foreign  monarch  the  inevitable  result.21 
A  time  of  national  danger  was  evidently  inopportune  for  a 
discussion  of  the  rights  of  the  sovereign  states,  and  Ritchie 
accordingly  deplored  the  course  of  the  New  Englanders. 

Peace  had  hardly  been  restored  in  America  and  the 
danger  of  disunion  averted  before  the  prints  heralded  the 
triumphant  return  of  Napoleon  from  Elba.  In  the  hope 
that  adversity  had  made  him  a  better  man,  Ritchie  wel 
comed  the  return  of  the  defender  of  self-government  and 
the  despoiler  of  the  rights  of  legitimate  princes.  He  saw 
no  reason  why  Napoleon  could  not  succeed  in  re-establishing 
his  rule  over  France.  Murat  would  welcome  him ;  Belgium, 
now  trembling  for  her  independence,  stood  ready  to  enlist 
under  his  banners;  France  would  rise  again  in  the  strength 
of  her  might ;  and  the  Corn  Laws  and  the  Income  Taxes  had 
exhausted  England's  resources.  The  result  of  the  "hundred 
days"  was  therefore  disappointing,  because  experience  had 
taught  that  France  could  expect  more  from  Bonaparte  than 
from  a  Bourbon.22 

With  peace  assured  at  home  and  abroad  Ritchie  faced 
about  with  his  countrymen  to  enjoy  a  new-born  nationality. 
From  Europe,  the  prey  of  the  legitimate  princes,  he  gladly 

21  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  27,   1813;   Ibid.,  March  2,   1814. 

22  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  24,   1815. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIEGINIA  POLITICS.  63 

pointed  his  fellow  countrymen  and  the  oppressed  of  other 
lands  to  "happy  America,"  with  its  boundless  West  and 
matchless  resources.  His  answers,  made  in  the  form  of 
questions  to  the  self-imposed  query,  "What  will  you  do  for 
news  now  that  Napoleon  is  vanquished?'7  tell  the  story  of 
the  great  change  which  had  taken  place.  "Have  the  Ameri 
cans  no  water-courses  to  clear?"  asked  he.  "No  canals  to 
construct?  no  roads  to  form?  no  bridges  to  erect?  Where 
are  the  public  schools  which  we  have  erected  ?  Where  are 
the  college  which  Virginians  have  endowed?  Where  are  our 
public  libraries  ?  Where  are  the  shrines  which  we  have 
erected  to  the  honor  of  Science.23 

Any  attempt  to  answer  these  questions  made  Ritchie 
blush  with  shame.  Already  Virginia  had  taken  a  back  seat 
in  politics  and  statesmanship,  and  was  rapidly  sinking  into 
a  star  of  second  and  third  magnitude.  All  these  things 
grieved  Ritchie  who  had  already  undertaken,  as  a  life  work, 
the  task  of  maintaining  the  ascendency  of  the  state  of  his 
nativity.  To  this  end  he  now  urged  a  greater  interest  in 
education  and  internal  improvements  and  established  a  new 
journal,  the  Richmond  Compiler,  which  he  continued  to  edit 
to  1833,  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to  the  local  and  industrial 
interests  of  Virginia.24  Had  she  followed  his  advice  more 
closely  and  paid  less  attention  to  the  loquacious  statesmen 
who  attempted  to  direct  her  councils,  she  would  doubtless 
have  fared  better  in  the  race  for  material  gain. 

Under  these  altered  conditions  the  question  of  the  presi 
dential  succession  demanded  immediate  attention.  Monroe's 
enviable  record  as  Secretary  of  State  had  not  yet  wrought 
an  absolution  for  his  former  political  sins,  and  Ritchie  re 
mained  consequently  indifferent  to  his  candidacy.  Whether 
he  shaped  the  indifference  of  Virginia  or  Virginia  his  atti 
tude  would  be  difficult  to  determine.  Possibly  they  were 
mutual.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  Assembly  of  1816,  which 

28  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  20,  1815. 

24  Ibid.,  September  20,  1815;  IUd.,  July  25,  1854.  The  Compiler 
was  established  in  1816. 


64  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

had  just  made  Ritchie  public  printer  and  given  him  other 
contracts  for  printing,  out  of  which  he  made  large  sums,  now 
named  presidential  electors  in  legislative  caucus,  but  re 
frained  from  expressing  a  choice  for  the  presidency.  This 
course  can  not  be  attributed  wholly  to  a  desire  to  placate 
those  who  complained  about  "the  scepter  of  Virginia." 
Many  of  the  younger  school  of  politicians  discredited  Monroe 
and  preferred  Crawford.  It  was  not  until  after  the  con 
gressional  caucus  had  decided  in  favor  of  the  former  that 
Ritchie  said  much  in  his  praise.  Even  then  he  did  not 
deny  that  the  nomination  had  been  brought  about  by  an  alli 
ance  between  the  politicians  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Virginia,  and  made  bold  to  suggest  a  more  democratic 
method  of  nominating  and  electing  the  President  than  that 
afforded  by  the  congressional  caucus  and  the  electoral  collegec 
Thus  Monroe's  election  appeared  to  him  to  be  more  of  a 
tribute  to  Virginia  and  to  Jefferson  and  Madison  than  a 
triumph  for  republicanism.25 

With  a  statesmanlike  foresight,  Ritchie  now  turned  to  a 
solution  of  the  great  problems  connected  with  the  internal 
development  of  the  country.  A  casual  survey  revealed  the 
beginnings  of  a  contest  between  rival  states  for  commercial 
advantages.  Love  of  the  Union  and  sympathy  for  the  pre 
vailing  nationalism  carried  him  beyond  state  boundaries  and 
caused  him  to  see  in  closer  ties  between  the  East  and  the 
West  greater  security  and  prosperity  for  the  whole  country. 
Yet  Ritchie  thought  that  Virginia  could  not  afford  to  stand 
idly  by  and  see  the  other  states  tap  the  granary  of  the  nation, 
the  Mississippi  valley.  Pennsylvania  was  already  reaching 
in  that  direction  with  her  turnpikes,  New  York  with  her 
canal,  and  Maryland  with  the  Cumberland  Road.26  The 
zeal  with  which  he  spoke,  nay  pled  for  a  line  of  communica 
tion  to  connect  the  East  and  the  West  by  way  of  the  James 
and  the  Kanawha  rivers  achieved  little  for  Virginia,  but 
it  did  much  to  win  for  Ritchie  the  affection  of  those  living 

25  Richmond   Enquirer,   March   20,    1816;    Ibid.,   November   6,    1816. 
2C  Ibid.,  August  8,  1817. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  65 

in  the  western  counties,  whose  sentiments  he  had  voiced  in 
1812  and  who  were  rapidly  becoming  his  political  henchmen. 

Interest  in  the  growing  West  naturally  directed  atten 
tion  to  the  public  lands  which  Ritchie  feared  had  already 
become  the  prey  of  speculators.  To  one  who  had  resided 
practically  all  his  life  in  the  land  of  "fair  prices,"  $120  an 
acre  for  unimproved  land,  the  price  then  paid  in  Alabama 
for  certain  choice  tracts,  seemed  anything  but  normal.  Accord 
ingly  he  recommended  the  enactment  of  laws  to  safeguard 
the  public  domain,  leaving  it  at  the  same  time  open  to  a 
free  and  liberal  use  of  home  seekers.  He  thought  it  should 
be  made  the  basis  of  credit  in  times  of  war  and  of  security 
for  contemplated  internal  improvements  in  times  of  peace,27 
and  he  therefore  oposed  any  gratuitous  distributions.  Like 
Jefferson,  he  had  always  regarded  the  West  as  the  refinery 
for  our  republicanism  and  our  national  virility  and  could  not 
tolerate  corruption,  either  in  disposing  of  or  administering 
it.  Nay,  it  was  more  than  that.  It  was  the  refinery  in  which 
the  immigrants  were  to  be  wrought  into  American  citizens. 
Behind  the  stream  of  humanity,  which  was  now  flowing  into 
the  United  States  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  daily,  the  editor 
of  the  New  York  Evening  Post  saw  an  overpopulated  Europe 
casting  off  a  superfluous  and  undesirable  growth,  but 
Ritchie  denied  that  Europe  was  overpopulated  and  could 
see  behind  this  living  stream  only  the  attractions  of  our 
great  West  with  its  cheap  lands,  low  taxes,  and  abundant 
opportunities.28 

Nevertheless  the  effect  of  the  westward  migration  uponj 
Virginia  alarmed  Ritchie.  As  the  bands  of  immigrants  from 
the  armies  of  Napoleon  and  Wellington  had  passed  over  the 
Alleghanies,  thousands  of  his  fellow  countrymen  had  joined 
them  in  search  for  new  homes.  With  their  negro  slaves 
some  had  gone  to  the  far  South,  while  others  had  been  con 
tent  to  stop  in  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri  valleys.  As  a 
result,  realty  values  had  declined  in  eastern  Virginia;  per-_^ 

27  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  6,   1818. 

28  Ibid.,  August  21,   1818. 


66  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

sonal  property  was  disappearing;  and  "likely"  negroes  were 
not  worth  half  as  much  as  in  the  lower  South.  In  the  migra 
tion  of  the  slave  owners,  Ritchie  saw  an  opportunity  to  rid 
the  state  of  the  "fearful  curse"  of  negro  slavery,  hut  he 
feared  that  the  process  would  rob  her  of  her  sons  and  cause 
her  further  decline  in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  To  avert 
these  calamities  he  now  pled  for  more  scientific  farming  and 
set  in  motion  that  interest  and  enthusiasm  which  resulted 
in  the  formation  of  numerous  agricultural  societies.29 

On  the  other  handT  western  Virginia  was  sharing  the 
development  and  growth  of  the  greater  West  of  which  it  was 
really  a  part.  The  conditions  there  produced  demands  for 
credit  and  for  hanking  legislation  which  the  East  could  not 
understand,  coming  as  it  did  at  a  time  of  financial  and 
industrial  depression  in  that  quarter.  During  and  imme 
diately  following  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  specie 
and  bank-notes  had  become  as  scarce  in  the  western  counties 
as  martins  in  the  month  of  December.  The  iron  makers, 
the  salt  and  wool  manufacturers,  cattle  raisers  and  small 
farmers  now  demanded  some  kind  of  money  to  carry  on  their 
legitimate  operations  and  to  aid  in  the  completion  of  their 
contemplated  works  of  internal  improvement.  The  danger 
of  dependence  upon  their  northern  neighbors  was  not  con 
sidered  sufficiently  menacing  to  warrant  granting  their 
demands  for  relief.  Consequently,  they  resorted  to  a  sort 
of  "moonshine"  enterprise  to  obtain  it.  They  now  supplied 
the  demands  for  a  currency  by  the  use  of  illegal  banks  which 
sprang  into  existence  in  every  small  town  and  flooded  the 
whole  western  country  with  worthless  currency.  Later  these 
banks  sought  to  sustain  themselves  by  an  appeal  to  the 
Assembly  which  was  asked  to  accept  the  status  quo  and  to 
legalize  their  issues.  The  refusal  of  these  requests  called 
forth  other  acts  of  defiance.  The  banking  monopoly  of  Rich 
mond  was  severely  attacked;  the  immediate  resumption  of 
specie  payment  was  demanded;  grand  juries  presented  the 
Assembly  as  an  unjust  and  tyrannical  body;  and  associa- 

29  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  25,  1818;  Ibid.,  October  6,  1818. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIEGINIA  POLITICS.  67 

tions,   not  unlike   those  which  went   into  the   West   at   an 
earlier  date  and  set  up  pioneer  governments,  were  formed    \ 
to  protect  the  illegal  banks.30     Persistance  in  their  efforts    i 
brought  about  the  enactment  of  a  law  to  compel  the  banks 
of  Virginia  (there  were  only  two  each  located  at  Richmond) 
to  resume  specie  payment  on  or  before  November  15,  1816.^ 

The  demands  of  the  westerners,  accompanied  as  they 
were  by  a  movement  in  the  country  at  large  for  the  recharter 
of  a  national  bank,  greatly  embarrassed  Ritchie.  The 
national  bank  he  considered  unconstitutional,  and  to  grant 
the  request  of  the  westerners  would  endanger  the  banking  ^j 
monopoly  of  Richmond,  which  had  been  built  up  by  the 
genius  of  his  cousin,  Dr.  Brockenbrough.  In  his  opposition 
to  the  proposed  increase  in  the  number  of  the  state  banks 
he  was  actuated,  however,  by  more  than  local  and  family 
interests.  His  arguments  were  unanswerable.  First,  he 
pointed  to  Kentucky  then  in  the  midst  of  financial  and 
political  chaos  because  of  her  unwise  banking  operations. 
So  long  as  the  old  ones  were  unable  to  pay  specie,  he  consid 
ered  it  the  heigth  of  folly  to  incorporate  new  banks,  but  he  de 
sired  the  repeal  of  the  law  requiring  the  banks  of  Virginia  to 
pay  specie  on  a  fixed  day.  If  the  other  states  did  not  resume 
at  the  same  time,  he  saw  plainly  that  Virginia  would  be 
drained  of  her  specie  in  a  short  time  by  conforming  to  a 
suicidal  act  of  the  Assembly.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that 
he  called  upon  Thomas  Jefferson  to  publish  his  writings  upon 
the  subject  of  banking  and  classed  the  illegal  bankers  of 
western  Virginia  with  the  Tory  traitors  of  New  England. 

Ritchie's  bold  stand  on  this  occasion,  which  was  doubt 
less  maintained  through  the  aid  of  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  was 
most  salutary  in  its  effect  upon  Virginia.  The  Assembly 
was  called  immediately  to  repeal  the  law  requiring  the 
resumption  of  specie  payment.  But  it  completed  its  work 
by  incorporating  two  new  banks  in  western  Virginia,  one 
at  Winchester,  the  other  at  Wheeling,  and  the  illegal  state 

so  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  13,  27,  1816;  Ibid.,  June  8,  1816; 
Ibid.,  July  13,  1816. 


! 

68  yTnoMAs  RITCHIE 

banks  were  required  'to  go  out  of  business.  Thus  Virginia 
was  spared  the  unenviable  experiences  of  Kentucky  and 
those  other  states  wmch.had  been  liberal  in  granting  bank 
charters.31  ,  f  \ 

/"   The  unsuccessful  movement  for  state  banks  was  immedi- 

t* 

ately  responsible  for  a*^demknd  on  the  part  of  the  westerners 
for  a  reform  in  the  "state  constitution.  They  were  con 
vinced  that  a  more  democratic  distribution  of  representation 
in  the  Assembly  would  enable  them  to  obtain  redress. 
Accordingly  a  convention,  composed  mainly  of  representa 
tives  of  the  illegal  banks,  assembled  at  Winchester  and 
issued  a  call  for  a  larger  and  more  representative  conven 
tion  to  be  held  at  Staunton,  August  19,  1816.  The  slogan 
of  the  reformers  was  equal  representation  for  equal  numbers 
of  free  whites.  Jefferson  was  appealed  to  and  responded 
with  his  famous  letters  to  Samuel  Kercheval,  in  which  he 
again  espoused  the  cause  of  reform.  Dismemberment  was 
now  threatened.  But  Ritchie  again  appeared  as  a  com 
promiser  and  a  peace  maker.  For  an  increase  in  their 
representation  in  the  state  Senate  he  urged  the  westerners 
to  consent  to  a  more  equitable  reapportionment  of  the  land 
taxes.  Feeling  between  the  sections  was  thus  temporarily 
allayed,  and  Ritchie  was  henceforth  the  friend  and  advocate 
of  a  constitutional  convention,  which  he  had  at  first  opposed 
because  he  thought  it  a  Federalist  enterprise  in  behalf  of 
the  illegal  state  banks  and  the  bank  of  the  United  States.32 
The  new-born  spirit  of  nationalism  did  not  exhaust  itself 
in  demands  for  banks  and  for  reforms  in  the  organic 
law.  It  carried  settlers  into  the  remotest  parts  of  the  far 
West,  led  to  the  acquisition  of  Florida,  and  eventually  con 
stituted  the  United  States  the  guardian  of  the  new-born 
sovereignties  which  were  now  making  their  appearance  in 
r America.  Though  in  sympathy  with  every  movement  which 
Imade  for  a  larger  national  greatness,  Ritchie  could  not 

^Richmond  Enquirer,  June  21,  1815;  Ibid.,  February  8,  1816; 
Hid.,  March  30,  1816;  November  16,  1816;  Ibid.,  February  6,  1817. 

"Ibid.,  July  20,  1816;  Ibid.,  August  7,  1816;  Ibid.,  February  8, 
1817. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.     .  69 

•'endorse  General  Jackabn's  invasion  of  Flbrida  and  the 
popular  demands  which  followed  for  the  conquest  of  that 
country.  His  high  sense  of  international  honor,  his  tradi 
tional  distrust  of  the  military  power,  and  what  was  possibly 
more  effective,  his  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  peaceful 
negotiations  as  a  means  for  acquiring  Florida  revolted 
against  the  blood  and  thunder  methods  of  the  Old  Hero.  In 
a  strong  editorial  entitled,  "Atrbuthnpt  and  Ajmbrister," 
which  was  later  published  as  an  appendix  to  the  letters  of 
Algernon  Sydney,  he  laid  bare  Jackson's  unenviable  record 
as  military  governor  of  Louisiana  and  demanded  that  his 
conduct  in  Florida  be  reviewed  by  a  court  of  inquiry.  At 
no  time  did  he  question  the  General's  patriotism  and  good 
intentions.  ISTor  did  he  deny  that  the  Spaniards,  in  the 
violation  of  their  treaty  obligations,  had  given  just  cause  for 
an  attack.  He  simply  insisted  that  the  dignity  of  our  new 
born  republic,  yet  in  its  experimental  stage,  and  a  proper 
regard  for  our  international  obligations  could  not  be  sub 
jected  to  the  passions  or  the  whims  of  a  zealot  and  that 
Yankee  tactics  should  not  be  employed  even  to  extend  the 
common  territory.33 

It  should  be  noted,  by  the  way,  that  this  attack  upon 
Jackson,  mild  as  it  was,  was  one  of  Ritchie's  greatest  pol 
tical  blunders.  Though  not  a  culpable  act,  it  later  cut  him 
off  from  all  chances  of  promotion  at  a  time  when  his  ser 
vices  were  most  needed  and  would  have  been  most  effective. 
Others,  notably  Calhoun,  who  had  looked  with  disfavor  upon 
Jackson's  conduct  in  Florida,  were  able  for  a  time  at  least, 
to  conceal  their  designs  and  to  avoid  his  displeasure.  But 
the  publicity  and  freedom  demanded  of  the  press  placed 
Ritchie  in  disfavor  from  the  beginning  with  the  man  who 
rarely  forgave  and  never  forgot  a  criticism,  even  of  his 
public  acts,  and  who  was  destined  to  be  the  commanding 
figure  of  his  times.  Thus,  Francis  P.  Blair  was  later  pre 
ferred  as  the  national  spokeman  of  the  Republican  party, 

33  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  11,  1830;  Ibid.,  December  15,  1818. 


onl 

,ii- 

iml 


70  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

and  Ritchie,  who  was  called  in  his  day  the  "Napoleon  of 
the  Press,"  was  passed  over. 

The  press  of  the  lower  South  naturally  sympathized  with 
Jackson  in  the  Florida  matter.  Accordingly  they  made  haste 
to  pronounce  Ritchie's  talk  about  the  national  honor  and  the 
superior  duties  of  our  new-born  republic  "a  deceitful  strata 
gem,"  designed  to  aid  a  futile  plan  for  securing  Florida  by 
peaceful  negotiation.  They  also  asserted  that  he  was  act 
uated  by  a  desire  to  enhance  Monroe's  popularity,  that  he 
was  influenced  by  the  Federalists,  that  the  siren  voice  of 
Algernon  Sydney,  his  cousin,  Spencer  Roane,  had  lulled  him 
into  a  false  security,  and  that  the  policy  of  the  Enquirer 
was  determined  by  one  of  Jackson's  personal  enemies  in 
Washington.  The  press  was  unable  to  reconcile  Ritchie's 
preference  for  negotiation,  as  a  means  of  securing  Florida, 
with  the  fact  that  Pensacola  was  being  fortified.  None  of  the 
many  attacks  disturbed  Ritchie,  except  that  which  charged 
him  with  subserviency.  This  he  denied  vehemently.  To  prove 
his  complete  independence  he  referred  his  critics  to  editorials 
which  had  appeared  in  the  Enquirer  as  early  as  June  30, 
1818,  before  the  opinions  of  any  other  editor  or  public  man 
regarding  Florida  were  known  in  Richmond.34  He  traced 
the  demands  for  "Florida  or  war"  to  the  activity  of  certain 
business  houses  in  New  Orleans  and  defiantly  predicted  that, 
whatever  the  outcome  of  the  negotiations  then  in  progress 
might  be,  Jackson  would  be  withdrawn  and  Florida  would 
be  restored  to  its  rightful  owners.  He  attributed  the  forti 
fication  of  Pensacola  to  Jackson's  ignorance  of  international 
law  and  of  the  policies  of  the  President.  The  Enquirer 
doubtless  spoke  for  the  administration,  and  its  influence  upon 
the  South  in  allaying  the  prevailing  spirit  of  hostility  to 
ward  Spain  was  a  patent  factor  in  the  purchase  of  Florida. 

During  the  long  period  of  waiting  for  the  Cortes  to  ratify 
the  treaty  for  the  sale  of  Florida  there  were  frequent  de 
mands  in  the  South  for  its  conquest  by  arms.  Rumor  had 
it  that  British  intrigue  prevented  favorable  and  speedy 

84  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  9,  1818;  IUd.,  February  2,  1819. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIEOINIA  POLITICS.  71 

action  on  the  part  of  Spain  and  that  Florida  would  never  be 
surrendered  to  us  until  Great  Britain  had  acquired  Cuba. 
Rumor  also  gave  credence  to  the  belief  that  Spain  was  anxi 
ously  waiting  for  us  to  seize  Florida  to  relieve  her  of  the 
embarrassment  of  selling  it  and  of  the  consequent  demands 
which  would  be  made  upon  her  for  other  slices  of  her  rapidly 
disintegrating  empire.  Ritchie  continued,  however,  to  adhere 
to  the  peace  policy.  He  did  not  anticipate  a  resort  to  arms 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  in  her  efforts  to  possess  herself 
of  Cuba,  and  no  other  foes  were  formidable.  Had  any  nation 
attempted  to  seize  Florida,  he  would  have  consented  to  war 
to  protect  our  claims  to  it.  Under  other  conditions  he  feared 
that  war  with  Spain  would  compel  her  to  sell  Cuba  to  Great 
Britain  and  to  permit  Russia  to  gain  a  foot-hold  on  the 
Pacific.  He  was  thus  willing  to  "bide  our  time"  in  the 
hope  that  by  so  doing  not  only  Florida  but  Cuba  also  would 
become  a  part  of  the  United  States.  Indeed,  he  now  regarded 
Cuba  as  a  more  desirable  possession  than  Florida,  com 
manding,  as  did  the  former,  the  free  access  to  the  Mississippi 
and  to  the  shortest  land  routes  between  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Pacific.35 

The  complications  regarding  Florida  had  a  very  notice 
able  effect  upon  Ritchie's  attitude  toward  the  efforts  of  the 
Spanish  colonies  in  America  to  secure  their  independence. 
Before  the  war  with  the  Seminoles  and  the  beginning  of 
negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  Florida  he  had  spoken  enthu 
siastically  of  their  efforts  and  successes.  In  the  midst  of  the 
stirring  scenes  of  1813,  he  had  called  attention  to  the  revolu 
tion  in  Mexico  and  commended  the  Virginians  who  were 
leading  it.36  As  early  as  1817  he  saw  that  England  pre 
ferred  her  own  commercial  advantages  in  Spanish  America 
to  Spanish  rule.  Recognition  of  the  independence  of  the 
Spanish  American  states  had  therefore  become  necessary  to 
preserve  the  influence  of  the  United  States.37  But,  when 

3S  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  26,  29,  1819;  Ibid.,  December  16, 
1819;  Ibid.,  May  9,  1820. 

86  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  31,  1818. 

87  Ibid.,  October  17,  24,  1817;  Ibid.,  April  3,  1818. 


72  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

negotiation  to  secure  Florida  began,  following  the  outbreak 
with  the  Seminoles,  this  attitude  suddenly  changed.  Clay's 
efforts,  formerly  commendable,  in  behalf  of  the  revolting 
patriots  were  now  traced  to  a  desire  for  self-aggrandizement, 
and  the  independent  sovereignties  were  apparently  forgotten, 
"-"t — ^  Instead  attention  was  directed  to  our  trade  with  China  and 
to  the  proposed  Panama  canal.38 

— •  Under  the  spell  of  an  awakened  independence  and  self- 
reliance,  which  had  temporarily  eclipsed  the  power  and  the 
importance  of  the  individual  states,  carried  settlement  into 
the  far  West,  and  increased  the  area  of  the  national  domain, 
Congress  had  rechartered  the  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
enacted  a  protective  tariff  law,  and  increased  its  appropria- 
^  tions  to  works  of  internal  improvement.  Deserted  by  both 
Jefferson  and  Madison  and  confronted  by  the  peculiar  exi 
gencies  of  the  times,  Ritchie  had  raised  only  a  feeble  pro 
test  against  these  violations  of  the  constitution,  which  this 
wavja_of  nationalism  had  made  possible.39  His  original  con 
ception  of  the  nature  of  the  federal  government  had  not 
changed,  but  the  tastes  of  his  readers  had.  Party  distinc 
tions  were  rapidly  disappearing,  and  under  the  direction  of 
Clay,  Calhoun,  and  Crawford,  we  were  moving  harmoniously 
and  unitedly  to  a  national  greatness,  the  very  thought  of 
which  inspired  every  patriot.  What  could  Ritchie  say 
against  the  new-born  nationalism,  when  his  friends  and  asso 
ciates,  Andrew  Stevenson,  W.  C.  Nicholas,  P.  N.  Nicholas, 
and  Thomas  Rutherford  had  so  far  departed  from  their 
former  prejudices  as  to  become  directors  of  a  branch  bank 
of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  to  be  located  at  Richmond, 
and  when  no  voice  was  raised  against  the  tariff.40 

Underneath  the  calm  of  this  "Era  of  Good  Feeling"  and 
'  little  politics  there  was,  however,  a  conscious  dissatisfaction 
and  distrust.     In  addition  to  the  acts  of  Congress  already 
noted  and  to  the  spirit  of  the-  times,  this  feeling  was  height- 

tslbid.,  May  12,  1820. 

"Ibid.,  March  9,   1816;   Ibid.,  July  31,   1816. 

40  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  1,  1817. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIKGINIA  POLITICS.  73 


ened  in  Virginia  by  the  decisions  of  the  federal 
Court  and  by  the  local  discontent  which  had  manifested  itself 
in  a  demand  for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  the  state  banks, 
for  reforms  in  the  fundamental  law,  and  for  the  industrial 
awakening  of  the  East.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Monroe  was  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  federal  government, 
Virginians  were  no  longer  formidable  in  national  councils,  j 
As  in  1798  they,  therefore,  turned  again  to  the  good  old 
days  before  the  federal  government  had  become  powerffuL., 
The  leader  in  this  new  movement  was  Spencer  Roane,  head 
of  the  Virginia  Court  of  Appeals.  By  his  numerous  letters 
attacking  Marshall's  decisions  and  the  centralizing  course  of 
events  he  revived  the  Democratic-Republican  party  and  those 
dogmas  of  state  rights  so  familiar  to  the  fathers.  This  reac 
tion  carried  most  of  the  politicians  of  the  old  school  out  of 
Congress  and  replaced  them  by  young  men  imbued  with  the* 
particularistic  theories  of  government.  Most  prominent  of 
the  new  lights  who  now  found  a  place  in  public  life,  as 
representatives  of  Virginia  in  Congress,  were  P.  P.  Barbour, 
John  Floyd,  and  John  Tyler.  The  occasion  also  called  forth, 
from  his  involuntary  retirement,  John  Randolph,  who  hence 
forth  became  Virginia's  recognized  apostle  of  republicanism. 
There  now  began  to  be  talk  throughout  the  whole  countrj 
of  a  "Virginia  party"  and  of  a  revival  of  the  Virginia  docj  ~ 
trines.  In  the  beginning  neither  Jefferson  nor  Madison  were 
popular  with  the  leaders  of  this  new  movement.  Monroe  was 
not  even  considered.  But  the  course  of  events,  accompanied 
as  they  were  by  a  change  in  his  attitude  toward  the  tariff 
and  other  nationalistic  measures,  brought  Jefferson  into 
good  standing  with  the  particularists.  Aftrr  tin  >1nn(1i  nf 
Roane,  which  occurred  in  1822,  he  became,  despite  his  age, 
one"  of  the  recognized  leaders  in  the  new  movement. 

The  particularistic  reaction  called  out  the  best  that  waT/ 
in  Ritchie,  who  now  entered  upon  his  real  life  work,  the 
preservation  of  the  ascendency  of  Virginia.     Temperament,  * 
education,  and  association  fitted  him  for  this  peculiar  ser 
vice.     Only  reluctantly  had  he  consented  to  the  nationalistic 
tendencies    of    Jefferson's    and    Madison's    administrations. 


74  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

After  enjoying  such  unusual  opportunities  it  pricked  him 
to  the  heart  to  see  Virginia  dropping  behind.  Thus  he  be 
came  the  natural  spokesman  of  his  companion  and  relative, 
Roane,  of  the  young  men  who  now  entered  Congress,  and  of 
Dr.  Brockenbrough  and  others  who,  through  their  influence 
upon  courts  and  legislatures  directed  the  political,  financial, 
and  industrial  efforts  of  Virginia^  in  her  lonely  crusade 
Under  the  conditions  he  had  no  diffi 


culty  in  renewing  his  friendship  with  John  Taylor  of  Caro 
line,  who  was  one  of  Roane's  ablest  lieutenants.  The  tone 
of  the  Enquirer  changed  completely,  becoming  positive  and 
aggressive.  The  able  essays  from  the  pens  of  Taylor,  Steven 
son,  Eoane,  and  Brockenbrough,  which  now  illumined  its 
columns  were  reflected  in  every  editorial.  A  crusade  was 
commenced  to  crush  out  the  remnants  of  Federalism  which 
continued  to  linger  in  the  borders  of  Virginia  and  to  eradi- 
/  cate  that  "hankering"  after  the  stars,  garters,  and  titles  of 
x/  nobility  which  was  daily  creeping  into  the  White  House.41 
Thus  a  wholesome  discontent  had  added  its  leaven  to  the 
crucible  of  national  interests,  and  as  its  spokesman,  Ritchie 
began  to  be  recognized  in  national  politics.42 

The  strict  .constructionists  made  their  first  unitexLassault 
uj3on_the  Bank  jFTEiie  United  States.  After  two  years  of 
trial  it  had  failed  dismally  to  establish  a  uniform  circulating 
medium  and  to  equalize  exchange;  many  state  banks  had 
suspended  specie  payment  or  failed;  a  panic  was  abroad  in 
the  land;  and  some  of  the  western  and  southern  states  were 
trying  to  drive  the  federal  bank  out  of  existence  by  impos 
ing  confiscatory  taxes  upon  its  branches.  The  fact  that 
Ritchie's  friends  had  resigned  from  the  directorship  of  the 
branch  bank  in  Richmond  is  indicative  of  the  change  of 
attitude  which  had  come  over  Virginia.  This  was  followed 
by  a  vigorous  attack  from  the  Enquirer  against  the  consti 
tutionality  of  a  national  bank.  Experience  had  taught 

41  Richmond    Enquirer,    January    9,    1817;    Hid.,    May    30,    1817; 
Ibid.,  December   11,   1817;   Ibid.,  February  4,   1818. 
"Ibid.,    May    19,    1818;    Ibid.,   August    18,    1818. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  75 

Eitchie  that  it  could  not  be  relied  upon  to  equalize  exchanged 
or  to  establish   a   uniform   circulating  medium.      He  now/ 
considered  these  things  obtainable  only  through  the  use  oji/ 
specie  paying  state  banks.     Adam  Smith  and  the  English 
reviewers  had  made  it  plain  to  him  that  a  uniform  circulat 
ing  medium  must  be  either  hard  money  or  convertible  paper. 
As  it  was  then  organized  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  was 
simply  a  sluice  through  which  metallic  money  flowed  from 
our  country  to  foreign  countries.43     With  a  restoration  of 
peace  in  South  America,  a  retrenchment  in  our  trade  with 
the  Indies,  and  an  end  to  speculating  and  wild  financiering  in 
the  West,  he  felt  that  specie    would  again  become  abundant 
and  that  the  state  banks  would  then  accomplish  all  the  ends 
for  which  the  federal  bank  had  been  incorporated.44 

Though  he  disapproved  of  the  use  of  force  by  Ohio  to*\ 
Collect  a  tax  from  the  branch  of  the  federal  bank  located  at 
Chillicothe,  after  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  \ 
had  ruled  the  tax  unconstitutional,  Ritchie  protested  against 
the  contention  that  Ohio  in  so  doing  had  been  guilty  of/ 
rebellion.  He  would  have  given  a  state  as  much  latitude  in 
resisting  a  "deliberate  and  dangerous"  breach  of  the  con 
stitution  when  made  by  the  judiciary  as  when  made  by  the 
executive  or  legislative  departments  :.bf  the  government. 
Moreover,  he  insisted  that  the  duty  to  "interpose  for  arrest 
ing  the  progress  of  the  evil"  was  as  great  and  as  imperative 
in  one  case  as  in  the  other.  The  striking  similarity  of  these 
arguments  to  those  made  by  Judge  Spencer  Roane  on  the 
same  subject  is  apparent.  But,  as  in  his  advice  tg  the  New 
England  states,  when  they  had  on  sundry  occasions  threat 
ened  secession  and  resistance  to  federal  laws,  Ritchie  now 
pointed  Ohio  to  \the  example  of  Virginia  in  1798  and  sug 
gested  also  that  she  return  to  the  federal  government  the 
money  which  she  had  taken  from  the  branch  bank.45 

Crawford's  defence  of  the  federal  bank  and  his  vigorous 

"Richmond  Enquirer,   August    13,    1819. 

"Ibid.,   October   30,   1818;   Ibid.,  June  4,   1819;   Ibid.,  August   17, 
1819. 

45  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  15,  1819;  Ibid.,  November  16,  1819. 


76  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

assault  upon  the  state  banks,  as  set  forth  in  his  "Currency 
Report"  of  1820,  was  not  convincing  to  Ritchie.  Admitting 
the  necessity,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  of  a  federal  bank 
he  now  insisted  that  a  constitutional  amendment  was  neces 
sary  before  it  could  have  a  legal  existence  and  that  the  state 
banks  should  be  maintained  to  prevent  it  from  acquiring  a 
monopoly  of  the  i  banking  business.  The  following  extract 
from  an  editorial  on  Crawford's  Report  would  make  inter 
esting  reading  for  a  modern  "trust-buster" :  "All  corporate 
bodies,  and  particularly  those  which  are  licensed  to  exact 
contributions  from  the  public,  are  not  only  objectionable  in 
themselves  on  account  of  the  temptations  which  they  con 
stantly  hold  out  to  go  beyond  the  object  of  their  original 
creation,  but  because  the  exclusive  privileges  with  which  they 
are  clothed  are  encroachments  upon  the  common  rights  of 
the  people  and  contrary  to  the  avowed  principles  of  republi 
can  government.46 

The    particularistic    reaction    completely    revolutionized 

Ritchie's  ideas  regarding  the  proper  use  of  a  protective  tariff. 

In  1807  he  had  favored  it  as  the  proper  means  of  making  the 

United   States   an   independent   and   self-sufficing   country; 

later,  when  New  England  had  appealed  for  protection  for  her 

infant  industries   against  the  flood  of  importations  which 

Great  Britain  poured  into  our  country  and  when  both  Jef- 

— ,  f erson    and    Madison    had    favored    granting    them    relief, 

Ritchie  had  said  little  or  nothing  on  the  subject,  but  in  the 

;  proposed  tariff  of  18"20  he  saw  an  unjust,  unnatural,  and 

unnecessary  effort  to  foster  manufactures  at  the  expense  of 

/   commerce  and  agriculture.     He  believed  that  a  redundancy 

'    of  population  and  capital  would  eventually  make  the  United 

States   a  manufacturing  country,  but  he  insisted  that  the 

change  should  be  allowed  to  come  about,  naturally  and  not 

as  the  result  of  intervention  on  the  part  of  the  government. 

He  grasped  clearly  the  principles  of  the  American  System, 

but  feared  that  a  protective  tariff  would  bring  low  prices  for 

raw  materials,  a  monopoly  capable  of  regulating  all  prices, 

MIUd.,  March  21,   182T). 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  77 

and  retaliatory  legislation  designed  to  exclude  our  surplus 
flour,  tobacco,  cotton,  rice,  and  lumber  from  foreign  markets. 
He  traced  the  causes  of  the  panic  of  1819  to  that  world-wide 
craze  for  speculation,  which  had  carried  distress  and  panic 
to  Birmingham  and  the  Valley  of  Deville  and  not  to  an 
insufficient  protection  for  American  manufacturers.  In 
answer  to  the  argument  that  agriculture  and  commerce  had 
always  received  the  fostering  care  of  the  federal  government 
and  that  manufactures  should  not,  therefore,  be  neglected, 
he  showed  clearly  what  the  American  farmer  of  today  does 
not  understand,  that  protective  duties  on  articles  produced 
chiefly  for  exportation  are  in  no  wise  protective.  Further 
more  he  justified  the  custom  of  placing  the  coast-wise  trade 
in  the  hands  of  Americans  as  a  means  of  national  security 
and  of  building  up  a  navy.47 

That  callousness  to  the  iniquities  of  negro  slavery,  which 
came  from  the  influences  of  a  black  "mammy"  and  from  wit 
nessing    from    childhood    the    sale    of    "likely   negroes"    to 
replenish  the  family  exchequer  was  not  the  only,  if  indeed 
it  was  the  chief  cause  of  Kitchie's  desire  for  the  preservation 
of  negro  slavery  in  the  proposed  state  of  Missouri.     Slavery 
in  Missouri  as  well  as  the  material  interests  of  the  sea-board 
sections  of  the  old  South,  had  become  involved  in  the  parti 
cularistic  reaction,   and  was   consequently  a   subject  to  be^^ 
settled  by  a  sovereign  state.    \Kitchie  thought  it  a  mis-nomer    j 
to  deny  to  a  sovereign  people  the  right  to  determine  their 
own  institutions.     To  exclude  slavery  from  the  state  of  Mis-  "1 
souri  without  the  consent  of  her  people  was  more;  it  was  a    .) 
breach  of  faith  and  confiscation^   In  the  treaty  for  the  pur 
chase  of  Louisiana  the  United  States  had  agreed  to  admit 
the  inhabitants  of  that  territory  to  the  full  rights  of  citizen 
ship  on  an  equality  with  those  of  the  other  states,  and  since 
making  that  treaty  she  had  permitted  her  citizens  to  carry 
their  negro  slaves  into  the  Missouri  territory.    He  thus  con 
tended  that  they  had  every  reason  to  expect  protection  in  the 

47  Richmond  Enquirer,   April  28,   1820;    Ibid.,  May  2,   1820. 
48/6id,  December  21,   1819;   Ibid.,  January  20,  1820. 


78  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

possession  of  their  property.48  In  language  which  smacks  of 
the  Dred  Scott  Decision  he  repudiated  the  Ordinance  of  1787 
as  unconstitutional  and  ridiculed  the  talk  about  the  pro 
posed  attempt  to  forbid  the  "migration  of  servile  persons" 
jnto  Missouri  after  the  year  1820.  He  did  not  profess  to 
know  the  status  of  the  negro  slaves  of  the  other  states,  but 
he  was  certain  that  those  from  Virginia,  when  they  went 
beyond  her  borders,  were  "imported  and  exported."  Ritchie 
also  opposed  the  exclusion  of  negro  slavery  from  Missouri  on 
the  ground  of  expediency.  He  was  confident  that  the  new 
state  would  need  slaves  to  clear  and  cultivate  her  lands,  and 
he  welcomed  their  removal  from  the  congested  areas  of  the 
old  states  as  a  means  of  ameliorating  the  condition  of  those 
who  remained  in  bondage.  In  a  further  continuation  of 
agitation  of  the  subject  he  saw  a  way  for  demagogues  like 
Rufus  King  to  reach  the  presidency  and  heard  the  death 
knell  of  the  Union.49 

The  first  suggestion  of  a  compromise  whereby  Missouri 
was  to  be  admitted  as  a  slave  state  on  the  condition  that  the 
territory  north  and  west  of  her  boundary  should  remain 
free,  threw  Ritchie  into  a  frenzy.  He  looked  upon  the  pro 
position  as  an  effort  to  subvert  one  of  the  great  compromises 
of  the  constitution  and  predicted  that  persistence  in  such 
designs  would  destroy  the  federal  government.  The  constitu 
tion  aside,  however,  he  considered  such  a  compromise  inex 
pedient  and  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  South.  It 
meant  the  exclusion  of  her  people  from  the  common  terri 
tory  which  had  been  acquired  by  the  common  councels  and 
the  common  treasury.  If  the  South  was  denied  access  to  the 
West  on  a  basis  of  equality  with  the  North,  he  saw  that  the 
time  was  not  far  distant  when  the  latter  section  would  raise 
up  a  hot-bed  of  manufactures  and  abolish  the  slave  repre- 
i  sentation  feature  of  the  federal  constitution.  He  therefore 
~  contended  that  the  South's  only  security  to  keep  the  North 
from  "lording  it  over  her"  lay  in  a  strict  adherence  to  the 
constitution,  and  gave  solemn  warning  that  she  would  not 

49  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  21,  1819;  Ibid.,  January  20,  1820. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  79 

abide  by  her  votes  when  the  constitution  failed  to  guarantee 
her  rights.50 

In  less  than  a  week  after  this  vehement  utterance  Kitchie 
published  two  letters  "from  a  gentleman  in  Washington  to  his 
friend  in  Richmond."  These  letters  made  it  evident  that  a 
national  crisis  was  at  hand  and  expressed  the  deepest  regret 
that  so  many  persons  in  both  the  North  and  the  South  viewed 
"disunion  with  so  little  repugnance."  They  also  made  it 
plain  that  the  South,  and  Virginia  in  particular,  could  hope 
to  gain  nothing  by  disunion.  The  writer,  who  seems  to  have 
stood  high  in  national  councils,  therefore  urged  the  accept 
ance  of  the  proposed  compromise  that  the  Union  might  be 
saved,  that  the  ambitions  of  King  and  other  aspirants  to 
national  honors  might  be  thwarted,  and  that  some  little  of 
the  coveted  territory  might  remain  open  to  slavery.51 

It  is  believed  that  these  letters  were  potent  factors  in 
reconciling  Virginia,  but  they  had  little  effect  upon  Ritchie. 
He  did  reconsider  his  remarks  which  had  been  "penned 
under  some  degree  of  excitement"  at  the  first  suggestion  of 
compromise,  but  reflection  brought  no  regrets  for  making 
them  or  changes  in  their  form.  Rumor  now  had  it  that 
acceptance  of  the  compromise  was  the  sole  condition  of 
Monroe's  re-election  to  the  presidency,  but  Ritchie  was  will 
ing  to  forego  the  honor  to  the  South,  if  it  came  at  the  price 
of  such  a  sacrifice.52  When  compromise  finally  came  he 
could  not  re-echo  the  congratulations  which  the  National 
Intelligencer  extended  to  the  country.  Instead  he  had  "no 
recollection  of  having  ever  taken  a  bitterer  cup."  The  only 
consolation  which  he  found  in  the  whole  proceeding  was  the 
fact  that  Virginia  had  given  two-fifths  of  the  total  vote 
against  the  compromise  and  that  only  four  of  her  twenty-one 
representatives  in  Congress  had  voted  for  it.53  An  inten^ 

so  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  10,   12,  15,   1820. 

51  Ibid.,    February    17,    1820. 

62  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  20,  1820.  The  articles  on  Monroe's  re 
election  were  written  by  George  Hay,  his  son-in-law.  'See  William 
and  Mary  College  Quarterly,  X.,  15. 

53  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  7,  1820. 


80  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

love  for  the  Union  kept  his  heart  buoyant,  however,  and 
he  soon  advised  all  good  citizens  ato  hold  to  the  sheet  anchor, 
the  law  of  the  land."54 

As  lias  been  noted,  the  particularistic  movement  in  Vir 
ginia  found  its  best  expression  in  Spencer  Roane's  protests 
against  the  nationalistic  tendencies  of  the  decisions  of  the 
federal  Supreme  Court.  In  the  case  of  Hunter  vs.  Martin, 
lessee,  Virginia's  highest  court  had  been  reversed,  and  the 
state  was  subsequently  commanded  by  a  mandate  from  the 
federal  court  to  carry  into  effect  the  decision  of  her  local 
court.  At  once  Roane  raised  a  voice  of  protest  through  the 
medium  of  the  Enquirer.  Again  when  the  federal  court 
decided  in  favor  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  the 
case  of  McCullough  vs.  Maryland  he  spoke  through  the  same 
medium  over  the  venerable  name  of  Hampden.  In  each 
instance  Ritchie  commended  his  attacks  and  endorsed  their 
contents.  His  language  in  introducing  Hampden  is  char 
acteristic.  "Hear  him  for  his  cause/7  said  he.  "The  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  is  a  tribunal  of  great  and 
commanding  authority,  whose  decisions,  if  not  received  as 
'the  law  and  the  prophets'  are  always  entitled  to  the  deepest 
attention.  To  the  presiding  justice  of  that  court,  we  are 
always  ready  to  pay  that  tribute,  which  his  great  abilities 
deserve,  but  no  tribunal,  however  high,  no  abilities,  however 
splendid,  ought  to  canonize  the  opinions  which  are  advanced. 
We  solemnly  believe  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
the  case  of  the  bank  to  be  fraught  with  alarming  conse 
quences  ;  the  federal  constitution  to  be  misinterpreted ;  and 
the  rights  of  the  states  and  of  the  people  to  be  threatened  with 
danger."  It  grieved  Ritchie  sorely  to  see  Republican  prints, 
the  National  Intelligencer,  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Patriot, 
and  the  Kentucky  Reporter  commend"  Marshall's  decisions.55 

The  opinion  of  the  federal  court  in  the  case  Cohens  vs. 
Virginia,  reached  the  acme  of  endurance  and  brought  forth 
Ritchie's  severest  criticism.  He  now  denied  that  its  juris- 

54  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  8,   1820 ;   Ibid.,  November  17,   1820. 

55  Richmond   Enquirer,    February   1,    1816;    Ibid.,   April    20,    1819; 
Ibid.,  June  11,  1819. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  SI 

diction  extended  to  all  cases  in  law  and  equity  arising  under 
the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  and  was  for 
restricting  its  jurisdiction  to  those  cases  which  grew  out  of 
an  exercise  of  the  powers  expressly  delegated.  To  restrain 
the  greedy  spirit  with  which  the  judiciary  was  usurping  the 
rights  of  the  states,  he  now  advocated  the  repeal  of  the 
Judiciary  Act  of  17SD  and  the  consequent  denial  of  authority 
in  such  cases  as  that  of  Cohens  vs.  Virginia.  He  believed 
that  the  Supreme  Court  should  sit  as  a  guardian  of  the  rights 
of  both  the  state  and  the  federal  governments.  Inasmuch  as 
it  had  failed  in  the  performance  of  its  constitutional  func 
tions,  he  would  have  abolished  it  and  substituted  in  its  stead 
an  elective  tribunal  to  be  composed  of  tried  and  mature 
statesmen  of  the  type  of  Jefferson  and  Madison.  The  state 
legislatures  were  to  be  given  the  power  to  elect  the  proposed 
tribunal.56 

Meanwhile  John  Taylor's  Construction  Construed,,  the 
most  valuable  of  his  sundry  contributions  to  the  state  rights 
literature,  had  been  issued  from  Ritchie's  press  in  Richmond. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  considering  their  former  relations, 
Ritchie  wrote  the  preface  for  Colonel  Taylor's  masterpiece. 
This  service  called  forth  from  Jefferson  one  of  the  "most 
gratifying  compliments  which  the  editor  of  the  Enquirer  ever 
received  from  the  pen  of  any  man."57  In  a  ringing  appeal, 
even  more  earnest  than  that  with  which  he  had  introduced 
Hampden,  he  commended  Construction  Construed  to  the 
readers  of  the  Enquirer  as  a  breath  of  political  life  from 
the  fathers.  Ritchie  sincerely  believed  that  Taylor's  work 
would  do  much  to  prevent  the  evils  of  centralization  on  the 
one  side,  and  of  decentralization  on  the  other.  As  such  a 
service  would  be  instrumental  in  perpetuating  "the  grand 
est  and  most  beautiful  experiment  ever  known  in  the  his 
tory  of  government,"  he  pronounced  its  author  the  greatest 
benefactor  of  his  day.58 

56  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  22,  1822. 

57  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  17,  1845. 
68  Ibid.,  November   17,   1820. 


. 


82  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

Soon  the  National  Intelligencer  and  other  nationalistic 
prints,  accustomed  to  the  former  liberalism  of  the  Virginia 
dynasty,  tried  to  make  it  appear  that  there  were  two  parties 
in  Virginia,  one  led  by  Jefferson,  the  other  by  Roane,  Taylor 
and  Ritchie.  As  they  sympathized  with  the  former,  they 
spoke  with  contempt  of  the  "new  lights/'  the  anew 
school/7  the  anew  party/'  and  the  "Richmond  Junto,"  which 
it  was  claimed  distributed  the  political  spoils  of  the  nation 
from  its  divan.59  But  there  is  every  evidence  that  Ritchia 
knew  his  ground  better  than  his  critics  and  that  his  love  for 
the  Union  and  the  constitution  was  as  genuine  and  as 
patriotic  as  was  theirs.  Accordingly,  it  was  a  source  of  no 
little  satisfaction  to  him  to  be  able  to  tell  the  world  authori 
tatively  that  the  authors  of  the  Virginia  doctrines  were  in 
full  accord  with  the  particularistic  movement.60  JSTeverthe- 
less  there  was  much  in  the  condition  of  affairs  that  grieved 
him.  In  the  coma  which  had  enveloped  the  minds  of  the 
people,  in  the  temptations  which  were  blinding  the  servants 
of  the  country,  in  the  apathy  of  the  press,  which  had  long 
ceased  to  be  a  sentinel  on  the  watch-tower  of  liberty,  he  saw 
grave  danger  to  the  republic  and  the  source  of  the  ridicule 
which  was  being  heaped  upon  Virginia.61 

Had  not  Monroe's  veto  of  1822  of  the  bill  authorizing  the 
President  to  cause  toll-houses,  gates,  and  turnpikes  to  be 
constructed  along  the  Cumberland  road  been  followed  by  that 
obnoxious  doctrine,  of  his  "Views  on  the  Subject  of  Internal 
Improvements,"  which  asserted  the  power  of  Congress  to 
raise  and  appropriate  money  for  "purposes  of  common  de 
fense  and  general,  not  local,  national,  not  state  benefit,"  the 
Virginia  party  could  have  boasted  of  a  triumph.  The  veto 
message  of  1822  was,  to  their  minds,  a  distinct  improve 
ment  upon  that  of  1817.  Instead,  however,  of  marking  a 
complete  triumph,  it  simply  marked  the  parting  of  the  ways 
in  the  Republican  party  and  the  passing  of  the  Era  of  Good 

09  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  4,  1821;  Ibid.,  November  16,  1821. 
60  Jefferson  Papers,  Series  I.,  Vol.  14,  No.  215;  Richmond  Enquirer, 
July  17,  1821;  Ibid.,  August  3,  1821. 

eiRichmond  Enquirer,  November  16,  1821;  Ibid.,  November  27,  1820. 


I/ 
* JUDGE  SPENCER  ROANE* 


COURT  OF  APPEAL.S  OF   VIRGINIA 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  8*3 

Feeling.62  Henceforth  one  faction  tended  more  and  more 
to  nationalism,  following  the  ideas  set  forth  in  Monroe's 
"Views,"  and\the  other  followed  the  ways  of  particularism  as; 
set  forth  in  hi\  veto  message  and  the  writijig^'of  John  Taylor 
and  Spencer  I&)a*fe.  The  former  faction  in  due  time  became 
the  National-Republican  -p£rty,  and  the  latter  became  the 
Xational-Democrat^party,  which  thus  claimed  to  inherit  the 
Jeffersonian  traditions. 

The  efforts  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  to  crush  out 
liberalism  at  home  and  the  rumors  of  their  plans  for  the 
reconquest  of  Spanish  America  came  as  a  challenge  to  all  our 
theories  and  experiences.  Already  Ritchie  had  pronounced 
the  attempt  of  the  allies  to  put  down  revolution  in  Italy  and 
Spain  a  blow  at  democratic  government  and  not  what  it  was 
claimed  to  be,  an  effort  to  preserve  the  "order  and  peace" 
of  Europe.  Moreover,  he  saw  in  the  noiseless  tread  with 
which  Russia  was  extending  her  possessions  into  and  beyond 
the  Oregon  territory,  a  direct  menace  to  our  future  possi 
bilities  as  a  nation.  He  ridiculed  the  idea  that  Russia  could, 
by  the  use  of  a  gate  four  thousand  miles  wide,  exclude  other 
nations  from  the  northern  portions  of  the  Pacific  ocean,63 
where  our  fishing  and  commercial  interests  were  already 
gaining  a  foot-hold.  He  hailed  with  delight  the  reports  of  a 
successful  revolution  in  Mexico  and  Monroe's  message  of 
March  8,  18*22,  recommending  to  Congress  the  recognition 
of  the  independence  of  the  South  American  republics.  Recog 
nition  by  the  United  States,  he  was  confident,  would  be  fol 
lowed  by  recognition  by  Great  Britain,  whose  commercial 
interests  in  South  America  were  such  that  she  could  not 
afford  to  be  outdone  in  efforts  to  win  the  good  will  of  the 
revolting  Spaniards.64  He  did  not  credit  the  rumor  that 
Spain  had  temporarily  ceded  Cuba  to  Great  Britain  to  keep 
France  from  claiming  it  as  the  price  of  putting  down  revo 
lution  in  Spain.  He  insisted,  however,  that  "if  Great  Britain 

62  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  31,  1822;  Ibid.,  January  24,  1824. 

63  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  23,   1822. 

MIbid.,  March  12,  1822;   Ibid.,  June  7,  25,  1822. 


84  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

did  intend  temporarily  to  occupy  Cuba  to  keep  France  from 
getting  it  and  to  save  it  to  Spain,  then  we  should  occupy 
it  temporarily  to  keep  it  from  falling  to  Great  Britain  per 
manently."65  Later  when  the  Greeks  revolted  against  the 
oppressive  rule  of  Turkey,  he  earnestly  espoused  their  cause, 
commended  those  who  volunteered  to  aid  them,  and  became 
the  secretary  of  a  mass-meeting  held  in  Richmond  to  send 
material  aid  and  to  adopt  resolutions  of  sympathy  for  their 
cause.66 

Notwithstanding  the  frequent  approaches  in  his  numer 
ous  editorials  on  foreign  relations  to  the  principles  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine,  its  formal  announcement,  as  set  forth  in 
the  President's  message  of  December,  1823,  came  as  a 
surprise  to  Ritchie.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  he  had 
not  been  informed  of  the  abrupt  turn  which  John  Q.  Adams 
had  given  to  the  plan  for  concerted  action  with  Great  Britain 
in  opposing  the  alleged  intentions  of  the  continental  powers 
to  interfere  in  South  America.  The  editorials  of  the 
Enquirer  leave  little  doubt  that  he  was  informed  of  Jef 
ferson's  and  Madison's  approval  of  the  plans  for  concerted 
action.  In  a  light-hearted  vein,  possible  only  to  one  who  was 
acquainted  with  the  inner  secrets  of  our  diplomatic  relations, 
he  had  repeatedly  assured  his  countrymen  that  they  had  noth 
ing  to  fear  from  the  tyrants  of  Europe.  As  has  been  shown 
he  had  long  considered  Great  Britain's  commercial  interests 
in  South  America  as  more  important  to  her  than  the  pre 
servation  of  the  Holy  Alliance,  but  his  predictions  regarding 
the  intentions  of  the  continental  powers  in  America  must  have 
had  a  better  foundation  than  the  belief  that  Great  Britain 
would  not  aid  them.  His  constitutional  inability  for  adjust 
ing  himself  to  sudden  changes  in  the  policy  of  state  did  not, 
however,  blind  Ritchie  to  the  superior  advantages  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  as  finally  declared.  After  all  it  followed 
the  injunctions  of  the  Father  of  his  Country  and  the  previous 
course  of  national  events.  Thus  a  conservative  like  Ritchie 
could  readily  become  its  champion  and  defender. 

65  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  13,  15,  1823. 
™Ibid.,  January   15,   17,   31,   1824. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  8"5 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PRESIDENT    MAKING. 

Unlike  the  editor  of  the  National  Intelligencer  and  those 
other  persons  who  believed  Monroe  perfect,  Ritchie  did  not 
hail  his  re-election  as  a  triumph  for  republicanism.  With  an 
eye  upon  "the  bright  suns  which  have  already  set"  (proba 
bly  Jefferson  and  Madison),  he  spoke  of  that  event  only  with 
"reluctance  and  regret." a  Except  for  the  rumor  that  Martin 
Van  Buren  had  attempted  to  use  the  federal  patronage  to 
destroy  his  political  enemies  who  had  voted  to  restrict  the 
extension  of  negro  slavery  in  Missouri,  and  that  he  was  thus 
attempting  to  cement  more  closely  the  political  ties  between 
New  York  and  the  South,  the  presidential  election  of  1820 
was  as  uninteresting  as  it  was  undisputed.  Ritchie  attributed 
these  conditions  to  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  voters,  and 
to  the  absence  of  an  opposition  party,  and  not  to  any  merits 
of  statesmanship  or  to  any  popularity  on  the  part  of  the 
President-elect.  He  observed  also  the  absence  of  that  zeal 
and  enthusiasm  which  had  accompanied  the  election  and  the 
successive  re-elections  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  but  his  keen 
political  insight  scented  in  the  existing  calm  the  rapid  ap 
proach  of  a  "war  of  the  giants/'  Adams,  Crawford,  Clinton, 
and  King,  for  the  succession. 

From  the  very  beginning  Ritchie  saw  that  the  approach 
ing  political  battle  would  be  waged  between  men  and  sec 
tions  and  not,  as  in  the  past,  between  political  parties  with 
well-defined  principles.  Thus  while  their  respective  states 
were  putting  forward  the  claims  of  Adams,  Crawford,  Clin 
ton,  Clay,  Jackson,  and  Lowndes,  and  while  Pennsylvanians 
were  "backing  their  friend,"  Calhoun,  he  retrained  from 
expressing  a  preference  for  either  and  concerned  himself 

» 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  23,  1820;  Ibid.,  November  7,  1820. 


S'6  THOMAS  RITCHIE  • 

mainly  with  the  solution  of  a  plan  to  keep  the  election  from 
the  House  of  Representatives.  Hoping  that  public  opinion 
would  meanwhile  concentrate  upon  one  or  two  candidates, 
he  at  first  advised  a  two  year's  truce  to  be  agreed  upon  among 
the  political  knights.2  This  wise  council  went  unheeded, 
and  he  then  proposed  a  national  nominating  convention,  then 
not  an  entirely  new  idea,  to  be  composed  of  delegates  elected 
by  the  several  state  legislatures  in  caucus  assembled  or  by  the 
voters  of  each  congressional  district.3  This  suggestion  was, 
however,  too,  revolutionary,  and,  as  the  necessity  for  con 
certed  party  action  became  more  imperative,  to  keep  the  elec 
tion  from  the  House,  Ritchie  took  up  and  endorsed  Colonel 
John  Taylor's  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution,  which 
would  have  recommitted  the  election  to  the  college  of  electors 
in  case  of  a  failure  to  elect  at  their  first  meetings.4  But  per 
sonal  ambitions,  sectional  jealousies,  and  conservative  indif 
ference  thwarted  these  patriotic  reforms  which,  had  they 
been  caried  out,  would  have  saved  our  present  legislators 
much  worry. 

In  spite  of  his  indifference,  at  this  time  amusing  because 
so  unnatural,  a  casual  reading  of  the  Enquirer  for  1822 
would  convince  one  that,  even  thus  early,  Ritchie  preferred 
Crawford  to  all  others  for  the  presidency,  and  that  he  felt 
reasonably  confident  of  his  ultimate  success.  Indeed,  his 
effort  at  reform  in  the  methods  of  naming  the  party  candi 
dates,  though  honestly  and  earnestly  proposed,  may  have 
been,  like  many  of  Ritchie's  proposed  reforms,  actuated  also 
by  a  desire  for  political  advantage.  Crawford's  candidacy 
had  a  following  in  all  the  states,  and  a  political  truce  or 
national  convention  could  not  have  been,  under  ordinary  cir 
cumstances,  detrimental  to  his  interests.  By  a  process  of 
elimination  Ritchie  had  also  made  it  evident  that  his  choice 

would  not  fall  upon  certain  candidates.     Calhoun's  "d d 

good  natured  friends"  in  Pennsylvania,  among  whom  was 

*  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  10,  1822. 

9  Ibid.,  July  23,   1822;   Ibid.,  August  3,   1822. 

*nid.,  October  7,  1823. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  87 

Walsh  of  the  Philadelphia  Franklin  Gazette,  had  nauseated 
the  people  with  a  too  frequent  mention  of  their  candidate's 
name ;  Jackson  was  never  "seriously  mentioned"  by  anyone ; 
Clinton  could  not  get  the  nomination  of  his  own  state,  much 
less  that  of  Ohio ;  and  Lowndes  was  scarcely  considered  even 
in  South  Carolina.5  Only  Crawford,  Adams,  and  Clay 
therefore  remained,  but  the  Lynchburg  Virginian  which  sup 
ported  Adams  and  maintained,  with  some  semblance  of  truth, 
that  he  was  the  choice  of  Virginia,  knew  that  Ritchie  was 
waiting  an  opportune  time  to  throw  the  Enquirer,  like  the 
sword  of  Brennus,  into  the  political  balances  for  Crawford. 
Considering  Van  Buren's  activity  for  the  same  candidate, 
it  was  not  difficult  to  make  such  inferences  as  that  of  the 
Virginian,  after  an  assurance  from  Ritchie  that  there  would 
be  no  difference  between  New  York  and  Virginia  on  the 
question  of  the  presidency.  Thus  he  had  made  clear  his 
position,  and  with  it  that  of  Virginia,  without  saying  any 
thing  either  directly  or  indirectly  against  either  Adams  or 
Clay.  On  the  contrary  each  had  been  the  subject  of  his  fre 
quent  commendation.6 

An  incident  of  1822,  though  small  in  itself,  came  near 
producing  large  results  in  the  contest  then  waging  for  the 
presidency.  That  year  Henry  Clay  visited  Richmond  as  the 
representative  of  Kentucky  in  a  boundary  dispute  with  Vir 
ginia.  The  Assembly  was  in  session  at  the  time,  and  Spencer 
Roane,  Ritchie's  former  choice  for  the  presidency  to  succeed 
Monroe,  had  just  died.  The  fact  that  Clay  was  now  gen 
erally  regarded  as  the  favorite  of  the  West  for  the  presidency, 
Missouri  and  Kentucky  having  already  nominated  him  for 
that  office,  made  it  an  opportune  time  for  him  to  renew  the 
acquaintances  of  his  early  manhood  and  to  talk  with  them 
of  his  chances  for  promotion.  With  characteristic  weakness 
for  those  to  the  manor  born,  many  Virginians  now  forgot 
the  follies  of  the  American  System,  which  had  not  yet  become 

'Richmond  Enquirer,  March  26,  1822;  Ibid.,  July  30,  1822;  Ibid., 
August    3,    1822;    Ibid.,    October    4,    1822;    Ibid.,    December    24,    1822. 
6  Ibid.,  July  22,  1822;  Ibid.,  November  12,  29,  1822. 


8*8  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

odious,  and  looked  with  favor  upon  the  political  prospect  of 
"the  mill  boy  of  the  slashes."  Together  he  and  Ritchie  prom 
enaded  the  long  hall  of  the  Eagle  Hotel  and  talked  of  by 
gone  days  and  of  their  political  differences.  Clay  was  cer 
tain  that  he  himself  had  not  departed  from  the  Virginia  doc 
trines,  and  assured  Ritchie  that  his  preference  for  a  national 
bank  was  due  mainly  to  a  desire  to  relieve  Kentiicky  from 
the  curse  of  the  state  banks.  This  was  certainly  an  argument 
which  appealed  to  both  Ritchie  and  to  Dr.  Brockenbrough. 
He  also  assured  him  that  when  "he  (Ritchie)  had  crossed 
the  mountains,  and  traveled  the  miserable  roads,  in  all  sea 
sons  of  the  year,  as  he  was  compelled  to  do  on  his  way  to 
Washington,"  he,  too,  would  excuse  in  some  degree  his  anx- 
dety  to  claim  for  the  federal  government  the  power  to  prose 
cute  internal  improvements.7  Though  unable  to  make  a  con 
vert  of  Ritchie  who  would  not  have  objected  to  him  for  the 
vice-presidency,  Clay  had  from  this  day  hence  many  friends 
in  Richmond  who  would  have  liked  to  see  him  President. 

Shortly  after  Clay's  visit  to  Richmond,  Ritchie  published 
in  the  Enquirer  a  letter  from  Washington,  together  with 
comments  on  the  same,  which  gave  a  comprehensive  view  of 
the  political  situation  at  that  time,  and  indicated  the  lines 
along  which  the  approaching  contest  was  to  be  waged.  Only 
three  candidates,  Adams,  Crawford,  and  Clay,  were  then  con 
sidered  as  possibilities.  Of  these  it  was  expected  that  Adams 
would  carry  the  New  England  states ;  Clay  the  West,  includ 
ing  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  a  part 
of  Tennessee  and  Louisiana;  and  that  Crawford  would  get 
the  South,  except  possibly  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 
Thus  it  was  evident  to  Ritchie  and  his  correspondent  that  the 
successful  candidate  would  have  to  secure  the  votes  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  the  acknowledged  bat 
tle  ground  of  the  contest.  Accordingly  J.  C.  Calhoun,  who 
stood  as  the  sole  barrier  to  any  effort  to  unite  this  section  in 
support  of  Crawford,  became  an  object  of  attack  and  hatred. 

7  Richmond  Enquirer,   September   10,    1852. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  8*9 

On  the  contrary,  Van  Buren  and  his  fellow  spoilsmen  who 
were  doing  their  best  to  secure  the  election  of  Crawford,  were 
hailed  as  statesmen  and  patriots.8 

These  conditions  brought  forth  from  Eitchie  interesting 
and  instructive  estimates  of  the  respective  merits  of  the  can 
didates.  It  could  not  be  denied  that  Adams  had  many 
friends  in  both  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  who  thought 
that  the  best  interests  of  the  Union,  his  acknowledged  abili 
ties  as  a  cabinet  officer,  and  his  sterling  .character,  which  re 
moved  wrong  doing  from  him,  entitled  their  favorite  to  the 
presidency.  James  Barbour,  a  Senator  in  Congress  from 
Virginia,  was  known  to  be  friendly  to  his  candidacy;  John 
Taylor  of  Carolina  was  in  doubt;  and  the  Lynclfiburg  Vir 
ginian  insisted  that  Jefferson  desired  the  election  of  Adams.9 
Adams'  famous  letter  to  General  Smyth  of  Virginia,  written 
especially  for  that  meridian,  convinced  many  of  the  old  school 
and  some  of  the  more  charitable  of  the  new  school  that  its 
author  was  a  true  friend  of  the  doctrines  of  '98.  But  Ritchie 
agreed  with  those  who  argued  that  mere  intellectual  achieve 
ments  and  a  sterling  character  did  not  necessarily  make  a 
statesman.  Like  them  he  also  feared  that  Adams,  if  clothed 
with  power,  would  develop  the  same  irritable  temper  as  that 
displayed  by  his  father,  and  that  he  would  eventually  return 
to  the  nationalistic  tendencies  of  the  section  which  was  most 
active  in  urging  his  candidacy.10 

Ritchie  saw  in  Clay  a  genius  in  the  mastery  of  men,  but 
not  what  his  friends  professed  to  see,  a  presidential  possibil 
ity  able  to  unite  the  warring  sections  and  to  be  the  President 
of  the  whole  country.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
native  Virginian,  a  most  valuable  asset  when  Virginians 
estimate  the  merits  of  any  man,  Ritchie  saw  that  Clay's 
pliancy  and  laxity  in  matters  of  administration  as  well  as 
matters  of  morals  would  make  him  an  unsafe  repository  of 
great  powers.  Despite  the  claims  of  the  Petersburg  Intelli- 

*  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  28,  1823;  IUd.,  February  13,  1823. 
9  Ibid.,  August  5,  1823. 

January   28,    1823;    Ibid.,   August   5,    1823. 


90  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

gencer,  he  also  mistrusted  his  nationalistic  leanings  and  his 
loyalty  to  Monroe's  administration.11 

It  was  plain  that  Ritchie  now  regarded  Virginia  as  prac 
tically  pledged  to  support  Crawford's  candidacy.  Gratitude 
alone  necessitated  such  a  course,  when  it  involved  the  claims 
of  a  candidate  who  was  a  native  Virginian  and  a  supporter 
of  Monroe's  candidacy  in  1816  and  again  in  1820.12  It  was 
true  that  Crawford  had  made  mistakes  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  he  had  favored  John  Adams  in  1798 ;  and  he  had 
even  stood  for  the  recharter  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. 
Notwithstanding  all  these  objections  his  escutcheon  showed 
fewer  blots  than  that  of  any  of  his  rivals,  and  his  principles 
were  now  more  in  accord  with  those  of  the  older  school  of 
politicians.  He  possessed  the  first  qualities  of  a  statesman : 
judgment  and  good  sense;  he  was  bound  down  by  no  formal 
etiquette;  and  experience  had  brought  its  lessons  in  diplo 
macy,  legislation,  and  administration. 

/Henceforth  there  was  no  mistaking  Ritchie's  attitude  to 
ward  Crawford's  candidacy.  Rumors  of  the  influence  of  and 
plans  of  athe  Richmond  party"  and  of  "the  Richmond  Junto" 
were  again  revived,  and  Ritchie's  friendship  for  Van  Buren 
became  a  subject  of  comment.13  The  importance  of  the 
Albany  influence  and  the  Richmond  influence  were  doubtless 
exaggerated,  John  Hampden  Pleasants,  then  editor  of  the 
Lyncliburg  Virginian,  estimated  the  latter  at  its  true  value. 
He  would  not  admit  that  there  was  in  Richmond,  as  in 
Albany,  a  political  club  or  junto  whose  power  and  purposes 
extended  to  the  whole  country  and  whose  opinions  and  wishes 
could  suplant  those  of  the  whole  people.  He  did  not  deny, 
however,  that  there  was  in  the  city  of  Richmond  a  body  of 
men  distinguished  by  talents,  eminent  in  service,  and  pos 
sessed  of  aa  great  degree  of  confidence  in  the  power  and  im 
portance  of  Virginia"  which  could,  by  constituting  itself  a 

11  Richmond  Enquirer,   January  28,   1823;    Ibid.,   August  26,   1823. 

12  Stevenson   M8S.      George   M.    Shepherd    to    A.    Steven-son,    April 
20,  1824. 

13  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  7,   1823;    Ibid.,  July  4,  1823. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIKGINIA  POLITICS.  91 

central  committee  of  correspondence,  practically  shape  the 
political  sentiment  of  the  state.14  Pleasants  might  have 
added  that  Thomas  Ritchie  was  the  tried  and  trusted  secre 
tary  of  that  central  committee  and  the  inspired  genius  of  the 
"body  of  men"  so  distinguished  for  talents  and  eminent  for 
services. 

Like  the  "machine  men"  of  today  Ritchie  disclaimed 
affiliation  with  the  organization.  Serenely  and  blissfully  he 
pronounced  the  talk  about  the  Richmond  Junto  "mere  cant." 
He  continued  to  sing  the  praises  of  W.  H.  Crawford,  and  at 
times  went  out  of  his  way  to  praise  athe  little  Magician."15 
Despairing  of  success  in  his  attempts  to  unite  the  party  upon' 
one  candidate  by  means  of  a  truce  or  a  nominating  conven 
tion,  it  became  evident  quite  early  in  1823  that  he  was  will 
ing  to  wager  the  success  of  his  favorite  upon  the  outcome  of 
a  congressional  caucus  and  upon  the  possibility  of  uniting 
Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Virginia  to  control  it.16 
After  the  Republicans  of  New  York,  under  the  direction  of 
Van  Buren,  had  endorsed  the  congressional  caucus,  Ritchie, 
and  even  John  Taylor,  found  less  objection  than  formerly  to 
that  method  of  nominating  candidates  for  the  presidency.17 
Indeed,  the  proposed  nominating  convention  now  became  im 
practicable,  and,  when  the  Assembly  met  in  December,  1823, 
a  legislative  caucus  in  Virginia  endorsed  the  action  of  the 
Republicans  in  New  York  and  began  active  steps  to  further 
Crawford's  candidacy.18 

With  the  methods  and  means  thus  agreed  upon,  Ritchie's 
chief  interest  centered  in  the  efforts  being  made  to  put  Cal- 
houn  out  of  the  race  that  Pennsylvania  might  be  left  free  to 
act  in  conjunction  with  New  York  and  Virginia.  Of  the 
ultimate  outcome  he  had  no  doubt.  As  he  saw  it,  Calhoun 

14  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  6,  1823. 

15  Ibid.,  July  4,  1823;  Ibid.,  September  12,  1823. 
ielbid.,  October  7 ,  1823. 

17  Hid.,  January  6,   1824;    Van  Buren  M88.,  John  Taylor  to  Van 
Buren,  May  12,  1823. 

18  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  29,  1824;  Ibid.,  February  12,  1824. 


92  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

was  the  most  unpopular  of  all  the  candidates  in  Virginia; 
he  had  not  a  single  friend  in  the  Assembly ;  and  he  could  not 
poll  three  hundred  votes  in  the  whole  state.19  It  seemed 
folly,  certainly  poor  politics,  to  continue  before  the  public 
as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  in  a  state  which  was  the 
acknowledged  mother  of  Presidents. 

Though  largely  a  New  York  and  Virginia  affair,  the  con 
gressional  caucus  which  met  on  February  14,  1824,  and 
nominated  Crawford  for  the  presidency  and  Gallatiii  for  the 
vice-presidency  was  a  sad  disappointment  to  Ritchie.  His 
favorite  had  won  a  political  victory  which  was  a  positive 
burden,  and  the  bribe  extended  to  Pennsylvania  in  the  nomi 
nation  of  one  of  her  favorite  sons  for  the  second  place  was 
ignored  with  contempt.  Few  of  Pennsylvania's  representa 
tives  had  attended  the  caucus,  and  Crawford's  rivals  con 
tinued  in  the  race  as  if  no  nomination  had  been  made. 
Ritchie  now  denounced  the  conduct  of  the  "fourteen  de 
serters"  from  Pennsylvania  and  of  all  those  who  were  un 
willing  to  agree  upon  a  single  candidate?  for  the  presidency. 
Nevertheless  he  did  not  despair.  In  a  few  days  after  the 
nomination  of  Crawford  the  Republicans  of  Virginia  placed 
an  electoral  ticket  in  the  field  committed  to  his  candidacy, 
and  Ritchie  reminded  his  readers  that  all  congressional  cau 
cuses  had  been  attended  by  small  minorities.  In  that  of 
1808  only  eighty-nine  members  were  present,  in  that  of  1812 
only  eighty-two,  and  in  that  of  1816  only  one  hundred  and 
nineteen.  Moreover,  he  was  certain  that  the  sixty-six  mem 
bers  who  had  attended  the  caucus  of  1824  did  not  represent 
Crawford's  strength  in  the  country  or  even  in  Congress.20 

There  was,  however,  one  of  those  surprises  peculiar  to 
American  politics  in  store  for  the  New  Yorkers  and  the  Vir 
ginians.  Pennsylvania,  upon  which  they  staked  so  much, 
now  deserted  Calhoun  and  enlisted  under  the  leadership  of 
Andrew  Jackson.  Though  he  had  noted  with  alarm  the  in 
crease  of  Jackson's  strength  in  the  West  and  even  in  Penn- 

19  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  3,    1823;   Ibid.,  December  11,   1823. 

20  IUd.,  February  19,  24,  1824. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  93 

sylvania,  after  the  caucus  had  become  an  issue,  and  had  re 
vised   his   list   of   presidential   possibilities   by   substituting 
Jackson's  name  for  that  of  Clay,21   Ritchie  had  fully  ex-J, 
pected  Pennsylvania  to  acquiesce  in  the  action  of  the  con 
gressional  caucus.     Her  failure  to  do  so  left  him  at  sea  with 
out  chart  or  compass.     It  meant  simply  that  Crawford  had    ~ 
missed  the  presidency  and  that  Calhoun's  persistency  and  its 
consequent  effect  upon  the  course  of  Pennsylvania  had  made 
for  him  two  political  enemies,  Van  Buren  and  Ritchie,  who 
were  henceforth  to  play  a  leading  role  in  keeping  him  fromy 
the  goal  of  his  greatest  ambition. 

In  view  of  his  previous  criticism  and  of  the  subsequent 
relations  between  himself  and  Jackson,  Ritchie's  estimates 
of  the  gladiator  who  had  now  entered  the  political  arena  are 
of  interest.  He  had  always  conceded  to  Jackson  the  noblest 
qualities  of  patriotism  and  the  best  of  intentions,  but  he  now1 
feared  that  his  fiery  temper  and  impetuous  spirit  would  unfit 
him  for  the  position  of  chief  executive  of  a  great  nation. 
He  saw  clearly  that  a  man  of  Jackson's  temperament,  expe-  *• 
riences,  and  education  would  be  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
men  of  superior  abilities  in  statesmanship,  who  would  devote 
themselves  to  his  person  and  thus  obtain  his  confidence,  pos 
sibly  to  abuse  it.  They  would  become  "the  power  behind 
the  throne."  It  was  true  that  the  impetuosity  of  his  temper 
would  at  times  stand  for  independence,  but  it  would  more 
frequently  carry  him  beyond  the  bounds  of  authority  an^ 
reason.22  Ritchie  was  willing,  however,  to  bow  to  the  will 
of  the  majority.  His  reluctance  in  doing  so  might  have  been 
overcome,  had  he  known  that  he  himself  was  eventually  to 
become  a  power  behind  the  throne. 

As  the  mysteries  of  the  "A.  B."  plot,  over  which  signature 
ISTinian  Edwards  had  accused  Crawford  of  a  corrupt  use  of 
the  federal  moneys,  thickened,  and  as  the  rumors  of  Craw 
ford's  failing  health  became  more  disconcerting,  efforts  were 
made  to  induce  the  Richmond  Junto  and  the  Albany  Regency 

21  Richmond   Enquirer,    February    21,    26,    1824. 

22  Ibid. 


94  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

to  abandon  his  candidacy.  Had  the  members  of  each  been 
able  to  agree  upon  a  second  choice,  the  efforts  would  proba 
bly  have  been  successful.  But  these  close  political  corpora 
tions  had  come  to  know  that  in  union  and  organization  there 
is  strength  even  in  defeat.23  Accordingly  Ritchie  set  himself 
firmly  against  all  attempts  "to  blow  up"  Crawford.  At  the 
same  time  the  central  committee  of  the  Republican  party  in 
Virginia,  the  official  name  of  the  Junto,24  issued  an  address 
in  language  which  showed  that  its  interest  in  Crawford  was 
rapidly  ripening  into  sentiment.  To  dispel  all  rumors  of  dis 
cord  the  central  committee  also  endorsed  the  candidacy  of 
Gallatin  for  the  vice-presidency.25 

The  conflicting  rumors  of  a  combination  between  Jackson 
and  Calhoun  and  between  Adams  and  Calhoun  made  an  alli 
ance  between  the  friends  of  Crawford  and  Clay  both  tempt 
ing  and  desirable  to  the  politicians  of  Virginia.26  Pennsyl 
vania's  course  in  supporting  Jackson  had  rendered  Gallatin 
a  poor  political  asset.  Indeed,  he  had  never  been  popular  in 
Virginia  since  the  days  of  the  Quids.  As  has  been  seen, 
Clay  had  already  won  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  Junto,  but 
he,  unlike  'Calhoun,  was  unwilling  to  play  a  second  fiddle 
and  could  not  be  approached  upon  the  subject  of  the  vice- 
presidency.  Accordingly,  the  Junto  decided  to  force  it  upon 
him,  hoping  that  circumstances  would  bring  about  acquies 
cence.  Since  both  Clay  and  Crawford  were  native  Virgin 
ians,  and  Gallatin  had  simplified  the  situation  by  withdraw 
ing  from  the  contest,  it  was  deemed  best  for  New  York  to 
place  Clay  in  nomination  for  the  second  place.27  On  Sep- 

29  Richmond  Enquirer,   June   18,   1824. 

24 The  members  of  the  Central  Committee  at  this  time  were:  John 
W.  Green,  P.  N.  Nicholas,  John  Robertson,  Peter  V.  Daniel,  Jerman 
Baker,  Andrew  S'tevenson,  Thomas  Ritchie,  William  Munford,  and 
Jacqueline  B.  Harvie. 

25  Ibid.,  June  15,  1824. 

26  Such    a    combination    had    been    suggested    in    April,    1824.      See 
Stevenson  MSS.,  April  4,   1824,  also  the  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  30, 
1824. 

27  Van   Buren   MS 8.,    P.    N.    Nicholas    to   Van   Buren,    October    19, 
and  31,  1824. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  95 

tember  4,  1824,  C.  W.  Gooch,  now  joint  editor  with  Ritchie 
of  the  Enquirer,  wrote  Van  Buren  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Clay's  friends  in  Virginia  are  anxious  that  he 
should  be  taken  up  in  this  manner,  (by  New  York  .  .  .  ) 
It  will  unite  us  most  effectively.  As  to  consulting  Mr.  Clay 
it  is  injudicious.  Let  him  not  be  consulted,  and  the  force 
of  circumstances  must  urge  him  into  an  acquiescence.  And 
this  will  be  done,  too,  without  hazard  or  compromitment. 
When  ~New  York  elects  electors  favorable  to  Mr.  Crawford 
her  Legislature  ought  to  nominate  Mr.  Clay  as  vice-presi 
dent."28  Gales  and  Seaton  of  the  National  Intelligencer 
were  in  full  accord  with  the  plans  of  the  Virginia  politicians 
and  wrote  Van  Buren  endorsing  them.29 

These  belated  efforts  to  save  Crawford  were  of  no  avail, 
but  defeat  did  not  come  as  a  surprise  to  the  editor  of  the 
Enquirer.  As  Jackson  had  received  a  plurality  of  both  the 
electoral  and  the  popular  votes,  Ritchie  readily  conceded  his 
final  election,  but,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  he  now  assumed 
a  position  not  unlike  that  later  taken  by  the  Whigs.  Vir 
ginia  was  to  be  found  henceforth  in  the  opposition,  doing  all 
she  could  to  protect  the  whole  country  against  the  sordid, 
selfish,  and  timid  trimmers  and  time-servers  who  were  creep 
ing  in  among  the  courtiers  and  sycophants  of  this  "era  of 
good  feeling  and  bad  principles."30  He  urged  the  selection 
of  strong  men  to  the  United  States  Senate,  where  the  Whig 
party  later  entrenched  itself,  men  who  would  oppose  the  evils 
which  were  expected  to  flow  from  Jackson's  administration, 
and  who  would  give  character  and  dignity  to  the  govern 
ment.  He  thought  Littleton  W.  Tazewell  too  nationalistic 
to  be  entrusted  with  such  a  commission.31 

John  Hampden  Pleasants  considered  the  occasion  of 
Crawford's  defeat  a  suitable  time  to  write  Ritchie's  obit- 
nary.  His  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  rival  editor  is  a  fair 

2SVan  Buren  M88.. 

29  Richmond   Enquirer,   October    19,    1824. 

so  Ibid.,  December   16,   1824. 

S1lbid.,  December  9,   1824. 


96  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

example  of  the  editorial  sparring  of  the  day.  This  fact  and 
the  subtle  references  which  it  contains  are  sufficient  justifi 
cations  for  publishing  it  here  in  full : 

"Farewell  my  friends,  farewell  my  foes, 
"My  peace  to  these,  my  love  to  those!" 

"Death  of  Thomas  Ritchie. 

"A  great  man  has  fallen  in  Israel!  It  becomes  our  painful  duty 
to  announce  to  the  public  the  death  of  Thomas  Ritchie,  Esq.,  Senior 
Editor  of  the  Enquirer.  This  great  event  toook  place  on  Sunday  even 
ing  last,  about  nine  o'clock,  P.  M.  The  following  is  a  brief  but  au 
thentic  narrative  of  the  causes  and  progress  of  the  malady,  which 
terminated  in  this  melancholy  catastrophe. 

''For  some  months  Mr.  Ritchie  had  been  in  a  drooping  and 
languishing  condition.  This  was  first  observed  by  his  friends,  soon 
after  the  14th,  February,  last,  when  the  Congressional  Caucus  was 
held  in  the  city  of  Washington.  Mr.  Ritchie  was  an  ardent  patriot, 
and  the  abortion  of  a  measure,  upon  which  he  sup-posed  the  salvation  of 
the  country  depended,  preyed  upon  his  spirits,  wasted  his  strength, 
and  sapped  the  foundation  of  his  constitution.  Like  the  celebrated 
Lucius  Carey,  after  the  commencement  of  the  great  Civil  War  between 
Charles  the  1st  and  his  Parliament,  he  was  never  seen  to  smile  more; 
or  if  he  smiled,  it  was  the  melancholy  and  unmeaning  smile  of  mental 
abstraction.  The  impending  fate  of  the  Republic  was  the  constant 
tenant  of  his  thoughts,  and  the  unceasing  theme  of  his  tongue. 
Latterly  he  embraced  the  opinion  'the  people  were  their  own  worst 
enemies,'  and,  in  their  defeat  of  the  Caucus,  he  saw  evidences  of  the 
truth  of  the  death,  and  the  harbingers  of  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
Constitution.  The  mournful  exclamation,  'O  my  country!'  burst  fre 
quently  from  his  lips,  in  tones  so  dolorous,  as  proved  that  it  came 
from  the  heart.  His  appearance  indicated  the  effect  that  his  patriotic 
solicitude  had  upo^  his  health,  and  his  'mortal  coil'  shrunk  and  atten 
uated  to  the  mo'st  lilliputian  dimensions.  He  had  taken  up  an  odd 
and  whimsical  notion,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Egyptian  astronomer 
described  by  Rasselas,  who  was  firmly  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
his  personal  superintendence  was  required  to  hold  the  sun  and  the 
stars  in  their  spheres,  and  make  them  discharge  their  diurnal  duties 
to  the  world  which  they  lighted  up.  Mr.  Ritchie  was  no  less  con 
fident  that  his  private  superintendence  was  essential  to  confine  the 
sun  and  planets  of  our  system  within  their  orbits.  We  regret  to 
say  that  this  honest,  but  whimsical  opinion,  embittered  his  last  moments 
.and  occupied  much  of  his  last  thoughts  which  ougnt  to  have  been 
devoted  to  God,  and  the  concerns  of  his  soul.  'What  will  my  country — 
What  will  the  world  do  without  me?'  was  the  absorbing  reflection, 
when  he  saw  the  gradual  approach  of  death.  It  was  in  vain  that  his 
friends  reasoned  upon  fhe  vanity  of  such  an  idea — in  vain  they  reminded 
him  that  the  order  and  affairs  of  the  world  depended  not  upon  the 
life  of  a  single  individual,  and  that  even  the  death  of  Washington 
had  not  impeded  the  prosperous  march  of  the  Republic — the  poor  gen 
tleman  was  in  no  condition  to  hear  reason.  Don  Quixote,  on  his  death 
bed,  recanted  the  errors  of  chivalry,  but  Mr.  Ritchie,  on  his,  clung 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS.  97 

to  his  mistake  with  fond  and  increasing  tenacity.  His  disordered  imagi 
nation  anticipated  all  the  horrors  of  anarchy  when  the  pervading  in 
fluence  of  the  Enquirer  should  be  extinguished  in  his  death.  The 
delirium  conjured  up  the  most  appalling  and  opposite  fancies.  At  one 
moment  he  saw  the  States  losing  all  subordination,  disorganizing  the 
Union,  and  setting  up  separate  and  independent  governments — at 
another  the  general  government  absorbing  all  power,  and  'rushing  into 
consolidation.'  'State  rights,'  'the  sovereignly  of  the  people,'  'the 
integrity  of  the  Constitution,'  'the  doctrines  of  '98,'  'Madison's  report,' 
all  were  anhilated  in  this  general  'wreck  of  matter  and  crush  of 
worlds.'  All  this  he  predicted  would  come  to  pass  after  his  death. 

"With  such  stupenduous  fancies  brooding  incessantly  in  his  mind,  it 
is  no  wonder  that  he  made  rapid  advance  to  the  gates  of  death.  During 
the  last  days  of  his  illness  some  of  his  opinions  underwent  the  most  ex 
travagant  changes.  At  one  time  he  was  extremely  alarmed  at  the 
idea  of  the  Presidents  being  chosen  by  the  House  of  Representatives. 
He  dreaded  the  recurrence  of  such  another  scene  as  that  between 
Jefferson  and  Burr,  and  was  not  sure  that  it  would  lead  to  a  dissolu 
tion  of  the  Union.  To  prevent  this  he  strenuously  advocated  the 
Caucus,  and  the  nomination  of  Crawford;  but  when  it  became  certain 
that  Mr.  Crawford  could  not  be  elected  by  the  people,  all  his  efforts 
were  directed  to  prevent  them  from  making  any  choice.  He  was  now  as 
solicitous  that  the  election  devolve  on  Congress,  as  he  was  before, 
that  it  should  be  made  by  the  people.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  prove  this,  that  all  he  wanted  was  the  election  of  his  man — 
that  it  was  Mr.  Crawford  he  wished  to  serve.  But  let  us  tread 
lightly  on  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  and  under  the  influence  of  the 
human  maxim,  fde  mortuis,  nihil  nisi  bonum,'  let  charity  hide  what 
reason  would  discover. 

"For  several  days  Mr.  Ritchie  was  kept  alive  by  the  stimulus  of 
anxiety.  To  hear  from  New  York,  North  Carolina,  and  Ohio  was  his 
last  wish.  His  friends  began  to  hope  that  cheering  news  from  these 
States  might  revive  him,  and  even  restore  him  to  health  again.  Vain 
hope!  and  evanescence  as  vain.  On  Saturday  night  Mr.  Van  Buren 
wrote  that  all  'except  honor'  and  four  electors  were  lost  in  New  York. 
On  Sunday  night  it  was  ascertained  that  North  Carolina  had  abjured 
the  Caucus.  It  seemed  that  the  spirit  of  Mr.  Ritchie  only  lingered 
to  carry  these  disastrous  tidings  to  Heaven.  It  fled  immediately  upon 
fheir  annunciation,  refusing,  like  Patrick  Coutts,  to  wait  for  the  news 
from  Ohio. 

'The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them, 
The  good  is  often  interred  with  their  bones.' 

So  let  it  not  be  with  Mr.  Ritchie.  We  have  shown  that  he  fell  a 
victim  to  his  patriotism.  Let  that  be  remembered  when  his  trans 
gressions  are  forgotten.  For  fifteen  years  he  had  ruled  public  opinion 
in  Virginia,  and  in  all  that  time  he  had  never  dissented  from  the 
majority.  He  was  so  good  a  Republican  that  he  refused  to  express  any 
opinion,  to  advocate  any  measure,  before  he  had  clearly  discovered  on 
whose  side  of  the  question  public  opinion  was.  His  own  sentiments  were 
cheerfully  sacrificed  to  those  of  the  majority.  Where  is  the  man,  liv 
ing  or  dead,  who  has  given  stronger  devotion  than  this  to  the  'will  of 
the  people'  or  paid  greater  respect  to  the  'omnipotence  of  public 
opinion!' " 


98  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

When  the  election  of  the  President  was  taken  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  Ritchie  again  conceded  Jackson's  elec 
tion,  but  continued  to  entertain  a  hope  for  Crawford.  On 
January  10,  1825,  he  wrote  his  brother  Archibald:  "Craw 
ford's  cause  is  almost  hopeless.  I  had  a  letter  from  a  West 
ern  Senator  two  days  ago,  who  writes  me  that  C.  has  many 
friends  among  the  Western  Delegation,  but  that  they  can 
not  think  of  going  for  him  apparently  against  the  sense  of 
their  own  people,  unless  they  see  New  York  leading  the 
way.  That  state  and  his  other  Atlantic  states  will  give  him 
1/3 d  of  the  Union — and  thus  excuse  themselves  to  their 
people  for  voting  for  him: — but  even  in  the  event  of  N.  Y.'s 
going  for  him,  there  is  so  much  doubt  of  the  Western  Rep 
resentatives  imitating  their  example.  He  adds  that  8  west 
ern  states  may  otherwise  be  set  down  for  Jackson,  Cooke  of 
Illinois  being  for  Adams. 

"What  a  desperate  choice  would  our  Reps,  have  to  take  be 
tween  Jackson  and  Adams.  I  almost  pity  them  for  being 
obliged  to  vote.  The  elective  power  is  in  such  a  case  a  curse 
instead  of  a  blessing.  It  is  said  this  morning  that  our  Va. 
members  will  stick  to  Crawford  to  the  very  last  extremity, 
and  perhaps  at  last  not  vote  for  either  Jackson  or  Adams. 
The  friends  of  the  last  are  very  sanguine.  But  for  my  part  I 
think  there  is  no  certainty  about  the  matter.  The  members 
seldom  write  to  me.  They  are  cautious,  shy  as  a  parcel  of 
mice.  Their  present  situation  is  certainly  one  of  great  deli 
cacy  &  responsibility."32 

Although  Jefferson  and  a  majority  of  the  politicians  of 
the  old  school  preferred  Adams  to  Jackson  for  the  presi 
dency,  the  Junto  took  Clay  as  a  second  choice.  Ritchie 
shared  the  opinion  of  the  Junto,  was  not  hostile  to  Adams, 
and  thought  Jackson  justly  entitled  to  the  place.33  It  is 
strange,  therefore,  that  the  final  selection  of  Adams  encoun- 

82  Ritchie  MSS. 

ss  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  29,  1835;  Ibid.,  March  10,  1827; 
IUd.,  December  20,  1828;  Ibid.,  September  19,  1828;  Richmond  Whig, 
March  21,  1829;  Giles,  Political  Miscellanies,  pp.  165,  166. 


A  STUDY  m  VIBGINIA  POLITICS.  99 

tered  opposition  in  Virginia.  Though  inclined  to  nip  the 
bait  themselves  when  prepared  by  Van  Buren,  the  Virginians 
were  yet  opposed  to  anything  that  savored  of  corrup 
tion  or  bargaining.  That  was  why  the  letter  which  ar 
rived  in  Richmond  on  the  evening  of  January  29,  1825, 
telling  of  the  alleged  bargain  between  Clay  and  Adams 
whereby  the  latter  was  to  become  President  and  the  former 
the  heir  apparent,  created  such  a  sensation.  The  effect  is 
best  described  in  the  following  brief  note  from  Betsy  Coles 
to  her  brother,  Andrew  Stevenson,  then  a  representative  in 
Congress :  "The  good  people  are  run_  mad  here  about  the 

presidential  election. I  wasjwith^ome  of  our  great  men  at 

Dr.  Brockenbrough's  the  other  night  and  found  them  all  uni 
versally  denouncing  Clay  and  Adams.  They  (Mr.  Nicholas. 
Dr.  &  Judge  S.,  Rone,  Campbell,  etc.,  etc.)  said  that  they 
would  take  Jackson  and_any  bodynow  in  preference  to 
Adams."34 

Ritchie  shared  the  indignation  and  alarm  of  his  country 
men  and  repudiated  the  "corrupt  and  vile  bargain"  even 
more  quickly  than  they.  It  seemed  to  him  an  effort  to  parcel 
out  the  empire  between  Pompey  and  Caesar.  He  at  once  sus 
pended  all  friendly  intercourse  with  Clay,  who  had  thus 
treacherously  betrayed  the  South.  From  this  time  to  March 
4,  1837,  when  Van  Buren  was  inaugurated,  they  did  not 
meet,  and  Ritchie  was  most  relentless  and  effective  in  keep 
ing  him  from  the  goal  of  his  ambition,  the  presidency. 
Though  he  announced  it  as  his  intention  to  judge  the  new 
administration  solely  upon  its  merits,35  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  guns  prepared  for  Jackson  were  now  turned  upon 
Adams,  and  that  Betsy  Coles  spoke  for  Ritchie  also  when 
she  said  that  the  Junto  was  willing  to  "take  Jackson  and 
any  body  now  in  preference  to  Adams."36 

Disappointed  and  disgusted  the  Enquirer  abandoned  tem 
porarily  the  field  of  politics  and  devoted  itself  to  local  affairs. 

34  Stevenson  M88.,  February  3,  1825. 

35  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  8,  1825;  Hid.,  May  24,  1825. 

36  Giles,  Political  Miscellanies,  p.   165. 


100  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

Since  the  debates  on  the  admission  of  Missouri  the  subject 
of  negro  slavery  had  been  an  absorbing  one.  To  those  who 
contend  that  the  abolition  movement  began  about  1830, 
Ritchie's  remarks  of  1825  on  that  subject  may  be  interest 
ing  and  even  instructive.  He  had  long  tried  to  quiet  those 
"vain  glorious  knights  of  the  quill"  at  the  North,  who  per 
sisted  in  discussing  a  subject  "of  all  others  the  most  inter 
esting  and  delicate  to  the  people  of  the  South."  At  the  same 
time  he  had  warned  the  "officious  and  facetious"  individuals 
of  the  former  section  that  the  evils  of  negro  slavery  were  to 
them  largely  dreams  and  imaginations.  He  readily  acknowl 
edged,  however,  its  real  evils  and  confessed  his  willingness 
to  be  entirely  free  from  "the  curse."  But,  like  the  true 
southerner  of  a  later  period,  he  was  unwilling,  even  now,  to 
trust  the  abolition  of  negro  slavery  to  inexperienced  hands — 
to  persons  who  could  not  follow  the  innumerable  fibers  by 
which  it  was  attached  to  and  interwoven  with  the  people. 
At  this  time,  as  later,  the  slavery  problem  presented  also  a 
negro  problem  which  Ritchie  saw  clearly.  Regardless  of  his 
disapproval  of  slavery  and  of  his  fears  regarding  the  pres 
ence  of  the  negro,  he  was  now  unwilling  to  sanction  a  viola 
tion  of  the  constitution  by  accepting  King's  resolution  which 
provided  for  the  use  of  the  funds  arising  from  the  sale  of  the 
public  lands  to  aid  in  abolishing  slavery  by  purchasing  the 
negroes  and  deporting  them. 

Although  it  involved  the  subject  of  negro  slavery,  Ritchie 
believed  that  good  would  come  from  the  proposed  Panama 
Congress.  He  could  not  defend  Georgia  in  her  dispute  with 
the  federal  government  about  the  removal  of  the  Indians. 
But  his  chief  interest  centered  in  the  internal  development 
and  in  the  educational  progress  of  Virginia.  To  the  former 
end  he  considered  free  commercial  intercourse  with  the  West 
Indies  imperative,  and  expressed  grave  fear  lest  Great 
Britain  should  monopolize  our  western  trade  thence  by 
diverting  it  to  free  ports  in  Canada.37  With  remarkable  en- 

37  Richmond   Enquirer,   May   30,    1827. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS'  • '  I'Ol 

thusiasm  and  foresight  he  set  forth  the  advantages  of  "rail 
roads  and  steam  moving  carriages,"  and  had  the  boldness 
to  suggest  that  they  would  in  time  supersede  canals  and 
canal-boats.  He  felt  that  Virginia  could  regain  her  place  of 
prestige  in  the  Union  only  by  maintaining  and  strengthen 
ing  the  moral  force  and  tone  of  her  citizens.  Accordingly 
he  made  an  earnest  plea  for  the  proposed  state  university, 
which  he  expected  to  become  the  sheet  anchor  of  her  intelli 
gence  and  her  morals.  It  mattered  not  that  its  professors 
were  to  be  foreigners ;  mind  was  of  no  country ;  and  science 
had  neither  latitude  nor  longitude.38 

Adams'  first  annual  message  to  Congress  set  the  ball  of 
political  revolution  again  in  motion  and  recalled  the  editor 
of  the  Enquirer  to  a  place  on  the  watch  tower  of  our  national 
liberties.  Henceforth  Adams  was  to  be  fought  in  the  open. 
Where  prudence  had  dictated  silence  he  had  characteristically 
espoused  broad  principles  of  national  power.  ~Not  only  had 
he  urged  the  construction  of  roads  and  canals,  but,  in  his  en 
larged  view  of  internal  improvements,  he  included  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  national  university,  the  support  of  observa 
tories,  "light-houses  of  the  skies,"  and  the  exploration  of  the 
interior  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  northwest  coast.  He 
urged  also  the  enactment  of  laws  for  the  promotion  of  agri 
culture,  commerce  and  manufactures,  the  "encouragement 
of  the  mechanic  and  of  the  elegant  arts,  the  advancement  of 
literature,  and  the  progress  of  the  sciences,  ornamental  and 
profound."  This  was  all  to  be  done  to  promote  the.-."general 
welfare." 

Ritchie  demanded  at  once  to  know  where  Clay  and  James 
B arbour  were  when  the  President  penned  that  part  of  the 
message  which  related  to  the  general  welfare.  He  was 
never  more  serious  in  making  any  inquiry.  Even  a  casual 
reading  of  the  Enquirer  and  of  his  correspondence  for  this 
period  shows  that  he  was  not  playing  politics  and  that  hg  was 
actuated  by  a  patriotic  desire  to  preserve  the^balance  be- 

38  Richmond  Enquirer,   October   11,   1825. 


THOMAS  RITCHIE 


tW££n   the   Centralizing   and    *hg   rWfyp+rfll^iyi^yJW^  _vn    our 

government.    In  the  words  of  the  celebrated  jurist,  Edmund 

Pendleton,  he  raised  the  cry,  "The  Danger  Not  Over;"  he 

also  implored  Jefferson  and  Madison  to  interpose  their  efforts 

to  arrest  the  tendencies  toward  consolidation  ;  and  in  his  zeal 

for  a  return  to  original  principles,  he  republished  the  Journal 

and  the  Proceedings  of  the   Constitutional   Convention  of 

1787.39     There  is  no  mistaking  the  sentiment  of  the  lan 

guage  to  his  brother  Archibald  when  he  said  :  "I  have  stood 

by  Virginia  like  an  affectionate  son  &  an  honest  man.     I 

stand  by  her  at  this  moment  when  I  am  humbly  attempting 

to  defend  the  constitution  against  the  heresies  of  J.  Q.  A."40 

Though  his  zeal  and  methods  did  not  command  the  ap 

proval  of  the  Albany  Argus,  the  political  organ  of  the  Van 

Buren  party,  they  doubtless  had  the  sanction  of  all  those 

patriots  who  understood  the  original  nature  of  the  federal 

government  and  desired  to  preserve  it  to  avoid  the  evils  of 

despotism  on  one  extreme  and  of  democracy  on  the  other. 

His  able  presentation  of  the  theory  of  the  division  of  power 

in  our  government  was  the  inspiring  source  of  the  numerous 

resolutions  which  Virginia  and  other  states  now  began  to 

adopt  on  the  subject  of  federal  relations.     Tney  came  to  be 

called  abstractions  and,  because  of  the  political  uses  which 

were  later  made  of  them,  doubtless  did  much  to  cheapen  the 

theory  of  state  sovereignty.     But  they  had  their  origin  in 

that  great  reaction  toward  particularism  which  began  about 

1816  and  ended  in  civil  war. 

In  view  of  the  large  part  which  the  West  has  played  in 
our  national  history,  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  by 
Jefferson  to  Ritchie,  written  at  this  crisis  when  it  seemed 
that  Clay  had  betrayed  the  country,  is  of  interest: 

"I  fear  with  you  all  the  evils  which  the  present  lowering  aspect 
of  our  political  horizon  so  ominously  portends.  That  at  some  future 
day,  which  I  hope  to  be  very  distant,  the  free  principles  of  our  govern 
ment  might  change,  with  the  changes  of  circumstances,  was  to  be  ex- 

89  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  8,  10,  24,  1825;   Ibid.,  September 
11,  1825;  Writings  of  James  Madison   (Ford  Ed.)   IX.,  231. 
40  Ritchie  MSS.     (No  date.) 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  103 

pected;  but  I  certainly  did  not  expect  that  they  would  not  overlive  the 
generation  which  established  them.  And  what  is  still  less  expected 
was  that  my  favorite  western  country  was  to  be  made  the  instrument 
of  that  change.  I  have  ever  and  fondly  cherished  the  interests  of  that 
country,  relying  upon  it  as  a  barrier  against  the  degeneracy  of  public 
opinion  from  our  original  and  free  principles.  But  the  bait  of  local 
interests,  artfully  prepared  for  their  palates,  has  decoyed  them  from 
their  kindred  attachments  to  alliances  alien  to  them.  Yet  though  I 
have  little  hope  that  the  torrent  of  consolidation  can  be  withstood, 
I  shall  not  be  for  giving  up  the  ship  without  efforts  to  save  her.  She 
lived  well  through  the  first  squall  and  may  weather  the  present  one." 41 

It  was  indeed  a  crisis,  and  the  politicians  of  Virginia 
bestirred  themselves  to  avert  it.  First  they  sought  a  "real 
coadjutor  of  Tazewell"  to  represent  the  state  in  the  federal 
Senate.  The  resignation  of  James  Barbour  to  accept  a  place 
in  the  new  cabinet  presented  an  opportunity  for  redemption. 
But  Virginia  was  not  equal  to  the  occasion.  She  had  no  bet 
ter  material  to  offer  for  leaders  than  William  B.  Giles,  John 
Randolph,  John  Floyd,  and  Henry  St.  George  Tucker.  Of 
these,  Giles  had  one  foot  in  the  grave  and  was  too  hostile  to 
Jackson  to  be  an  effective  co-worker  with  him;  Floyd  had 
also  seen  his  best  days  and  had  little  following  except  in  the 
western  counties;  and  Tucker  was  a  nationalist.  Thus  the 
choice  fell  upon  Randolph,  who  was  unfitted  by  temperament 
and  habits  for  leadership  and  who,  despite  the  length  of  his 
service,  was  not  popular  even  at  his  home.42 

Though  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer  did  not  betray  him, 
Ritchie  had  opposed  in  vain  the  election  of  Randolph  to  the 
Senate.     He  preferred  Giles,  but  local  conditions  were  such 
as  to  render  it  inexpedient  to  express  a  preierence.     His 
activity  in  the  presidential  election  of  1824  and  his  strict/ 
construction  doctrines  had  neutralized  temporarily  his  popu-i 
larity  in  the  western  counties  so  that  John  Hampden  Pleas- 
ants  was  about  to  succeed  in  ousting  him  from  the  office  of 
public  printer  by  organizing  the  representatives  of  the  west-    , 
ern  counties  in  the  Assembly  against  him.     The  following    1 
extract  from  a  letter  to  his  brother  gives  an  adequate  de- 

41  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  11,  1827. 

42 Ritchie  MSS.  Thomas  Ritchie  to  Col.  A.  Ritchie,  (no  date); 
Richmond  Enquirer,  December  10,  1825. 


104  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

scription  of  the  situation  as  well  as  an  index  to  the  true 
Ritchie : 

"The  Legislature  has  been  in  a  sort  of  hurly-burly  since  it  met. 
There  are  many  new  members;  many  young  ones;  many  whom  I  never 
saw  and  who  never  saw  me;  several  from  the  West  have  come  not  very 
well  inclined  to  take  my  part,  because  they  were  for  Tucker  and  I  was 
for    Giles.      They    were    for    Roads    and    Canals   at    all    events,    and    I 
only  when  the  Constitution  should  be  amended  to  authorize  them;  and 
what   with   these   causes,   and   what  with    the   offence   I    had   given    to 
some  about  the  Yorktown  bill  and  to  others  about  the  William  &  Mary 
College  bill   &  &;   and  what  with   the  votes  my  opponent  got  by  his 
personal  friends  &  legislative  acquaintances  and  some  who  felt  for  his 
poverty,  and  the  Adams  &  Clay  men,  and  what  with  the  10  or  12  (          ) 
votes  he  got,  he  received  the  vote  you  have  seen.     Not  content  with 
that,   some  of  his   friends   are  trying  to  strike  at  me   in  other  ways. 
A  young  member  from  Harrison    (son  of  John  G-.  Jackson)    who  nomi 
nated  Tucker   first  and  J.  H.  Pleasants   next,  has  proposed  a  Resolu 
tion  to  let  out  the  Public  Printing  to  the  lowest  job.     Meantime  they 
are  circulating  every  description  of  lie  against  me;  that  it  is  the  most 
lucrative   office   in    the    Commonwealth,    when    the   net   profits    do    not 
exceed  $1,200,  of  which  I  only  receive  one  third    (the  rest  is  divided 
amiong  printers  whom  I  have  interested  in  the  work  to   have  it  well 
and  properly  done,  and  as  well  or  as  properly,  it  has  never  yet  been 
done).     They  say  that  it  is  a    (          )    when  I   read  the  proof-sheets, 
and  turn  out  at  almost  all  hours,  day  &  night,  to  see  their  work;  when 
I   read  over   yesterday,   most   carefully,    equal    to   50    pages    in   octavo 
of   the   public   work.      They   say   that   I    employ   a   printer   to   do   the 
work  at  most  inadequate  wages,  and  skim  the  cream  myself;  when  it  is 
a     fact   that    Shepherd,    the   best   printer    in   the    Commonwealth,    and 
equal  to  any  in  the  Union,  receives  a  salary  of  $850,  besides  being  as 
much  interested  in  the  profits  as  I  am,  that  is  just  one  third.     When 
I  proposed  three  years  ago  to  resign  Shepherd  would  not  let  me.     He 
was  pleased  to  say  such  had  been  my  liberality  he  could  not  consent 
to  lose  me.    But  they  will  not  lie  me  down.    I  have  weathered  too  many 
a  storm  to  care  for  this.     If  they  put  out  the  work  to  the  lowest  bid, 
be  it  so.     They  have  the  right  to  do  it;    and  they  may  at  their  own 
risk   try   a   project,   which   did   the   work   at   Washington    so  badly   & 
so  slowly  that  Congress  had  to  abandon  the  system  &  employ  a  Public 
Printer.     Let  the  thing  go  as  it  will,  I  shall  not  bow  my  spirit  before 
the  proudest  of  them.     I  am  as  honest  as  any  of  my  opponents,  and  as 
independent   and   as   unbending.     They   calumniate  me   as   a   Dictator, 
as    possessing    too    undue    an    influence    in    the    Commonwealth     (this 
is  what  that  foolish  fellow,  the  editor  of  the  Whig,  charged  upon  me 
last  Tuesday),  but  I  laugh  the  imputation  to  scorn.     It  is  a  poor  com 
pliment  to  the  citizens  of  Virginia  to  raise  my  influence  at  their  ex 
pense.     It  is  false  as  it  is  malignant.     It  is  a  leaf  from  the  Richmond 
letters,  and  I  will  not  stoop  to  answer   it."  ** 

Triumphant  at  home,  Ritchie  again  turned  his  attention 
to  national  politics.     Virginia  was  now  to  present  a  united 

«  Ritchie  MSS. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  105 

front  both  at  home  and  in  the  natkxnal-  councils.  To  the  first  \ 
end  he  sought  to  conciliate  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  \ 
counties,  where  Adams  was  strong,  by  supporting  the  move-  j 
ment  for  reforms  in  the  state  constitution  and  by  substitut-  I 
ing  state  for  federal^aid  in  completing  their  proposed  inter/ 
nal  improvements.  When  Hezekiah  Mies  reminded  Ritchie 
that  Virginia  had  requested  aid  from  the  federal  govern 
ment  in  1815  to  extend  the  National  Road,  and  suggested 
that  the  inhabitants- of  the  western  counties,  in  continuing 
to  look  to  that  source  for  aid,  were  acting  in  keeping  with 
the  best  and  the  latest  traditions  of  the  state,  Ritchie  insisted 
that  the  resolutions  of  1815  had  been  adopted  without  due 
deliberation  and  that  no  one  had  ever  thought  of  regarding 
them  as  a  "life  precedent."44  To  accomplish  the_  second 
end  he  urged  that  the  state  stand  by  and  reiterate  its  resolu 
tions  on  federal  relations  and  that  she  place  her  ablest  men 
in  public  life.  Though  not  a  resident  of  the  district,  Giles 
was  put  forward  to  succeed  Randolph  in  the  House.  His 
defeat  was  followed  by  the  publication  of  his  "Political  Dis 
quisitions"  and  another  futile  attempt  to  reach  Congress  by 
contesting  the  re-election  of  W.  S.  Archer.45  Notwithstand 
ing  the  opinions  of  the  National  Intelligencer  to  the  contrary, 
Ritchie,  unlike  "men  of  principle  in  proportion  to  their  own 
interest,"  knew  that  Virginia  would  never  be  bribed  by  any 
appropriations  to  works  of  internal  improvement  within  her 
boundaries.46 

Meanwhile  the  bitterness  which  John  Randolph,  in  his 
moments  of  hysteria,  was  injecting  into  the  political  caldron 
had  so  agitated  the  anti-administration  forces  as  to  make  it 
possible  for  Van  Buren,  with  his  gentle  touch,  to  organize  a 
working  opposition  and  to  launch  Jackson's  candidacy  for  the 
presidency.  It  was  the  best  way  to  get  rid  of  him  and  to 
destroy  the  power  and  influence  of  Adams  and  Clay,  and  for 


44  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  23,  1826. 
Ibid., 
526;   1 
Ibid. 


"Ibid.,   January  21,    1826;    Ibid.,   March    11,    1826;    Ibid.,  August 
*29,  1826;   Ibid.}  October  13,  1826. 


106  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

that  reason  Van  Buren's  more  disinterested  efforts  received 
the  hearty  endorsement  of  such  leaders  as  Randolph,  Taze- 
well,  and  Calhoun.  Under  the  direction  of  Randolph  the 
campaign  for  Jackson's  re-election  was  accordingly  launched 
from  some  of  the  most  strategic  points  in  Virginia  on  July 
4,  1826.  Both  Calhoun  and  Van  Buren  now  became  popu 
lar  heroes,  and  the  ambitions  of  the  former  to  reach  the 
presidency  as  the  heir  to  the  "Old  Hero's"  popularity  found 
indulgence  in  the  columns  of  the  Enquirer.*7  His  desire  for 
unity  and  accord,  as  the  only  possible  means  of  overthrow 
ing  the  federalistic  regime,  led  Ritchie  even  to  condemn  Ran 
dolph's  attacks  upon  the  North.  48 

'  Though  in  sympathy  with  anything  that  would  unite  the 
opposition  and  defeat  Adams,  Ritchie  had  accepted  Jackson's 
candidacy  with  reluctance*  Consequently  he  and  others  of 
the  Junto  had  not  been  readily  admitted  to  the  secrets  of 
the  little  magician  and  his  political  henchmen.  As  early  as 
October,  1826,  P.  N.  Mcholas,  one  of  Ritchie's  closest 
friends,  wrote  to  Van  Buren  for  information  regarding  "the 
views  of  those  with  whom  we  would  co-operate  in  the  other 
states,"  and  assured  him  that  there  were  "some  of  us  who  are 
discreet  enough  to  be  confided  in"49  At  the  same  time  he 
informed  him  of  the  continued  hostility  to  Jackson  in  Vir 
ginia,  but  was  careful  to  assure  him  that  Adams  was  even 
more  unpopular.  In  due  time  the  administration  came  to 
the  rescue  of  those  desirous  of  winning  Ritchie.  By  uniting 
its  strength  with  those  Republicans  of  the  Assembly  who 
could  not  endorse  Randolph's  record  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  it  brought  about  his  defeat  for  a  re-election  and 
secured  the  election  of  John  Tyler,  who  had  favored  Adams 
for  the  presidency  in  1825  and  who  was  at  the  time  of  his 
election  to  the  Senate  on  friendly  terms  with  Clay.50  Con- 

41  Richmond  Enquirer,   February   14,   1826;    IUd.,  April   28,   1820; 
Ibid.,  July  4,  1826. 

"Ibid.,  August  18,  1826. 

48  Van  Buren  MSS.    P.  N.  Nicholas  to  Van  Buren. 

so  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  13,  1827. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  107 

t 

sidering  the  active  part  taken  by  Randolph  in  promoting 
Jackson's  candidacy  and  in  attacking  the  administration, 
Tyler's  election  to  the  Senate  was  an  anti-Jackson  victory. 
But  it  was  one  of  those  victories  which  act  as  a  boomerang. 
Incensed  at  the  tactics  by  which  it  had  been  accomplished, 
Ritchie  now  rallied  to  the  Jackson  banner,  determined  to  put 
down  Adams  and  Clay,  to  retrieve  the  injustice  done  the  "Old 
Hero"  by  the  "corrupt  bargain,"  and  to  avenge  Virginia's 
apostle  of  republicanism.51 

Van  Buren  did  not  delay  in  extending  a  ready  welcome  > 
to  his  new  political  ally.  In  a  letter  dated  January  13,  1827, 
he  outlined  the  plans  of  and  reasons  for  a  political  alliance  - 
between  "the  planters  of  the  South  and  the  plain  Eepublicans 
of  the  North,"  which  continued  to  be  the  basis  of  their  alli 
ance  until  18  60./  The  proposed  union  was  to  be  accomplished 
through  a  national  convention,  by  which  means  Van  Buren 
felt  that  the  "Old  Republican  Party"  could  be  reorganized 
in  such  a  way  as  to  combine  Jackson's  personal  popularity 
with  the  attachment  of  his  followers  for  a  particular  party. 
Such  a  development  would  then  permit  a  substitution  of 
party  principles  for  sectional  and  personal  preferences.  Van 
Buren' s  experiences  in  New  York  had  taught  him  to  regard 
political  combinations  as  unavoidable,  and  he  now  considered 
that  between  the  "planters  of  the  South  and  the  plain  Re 
publicans  of  the  North"  as  the  most  practicable  and  desir 
able  for  national  purposes.  The  Republicans  had  once  won 
victory  by  it,  and  he  saw  no  reason  why  they  could  not  do  so 
again.  "It  would  take  longer  than  our  lives  (even  if  it  were 
practicable),"  said  he,  "to  create  new  party  feelings  to  keep 
those  masses  together.  If  the  old  ones  are  suppressed,  geo 
graphical  divisions  founded  on  local  interests  or  what  is  more, 
prejudices  between  free  and  slave-holding  states  will  inevit 
ably  take  their  place.  Party  attachments  in  former  times 
furnished  a  complete  antidote  for  sectional  prejudices  by 
producing  counteracting  feelings.  It  was  not  until  that  pre- 

t 
81  Richmond  Enquirer,  January   16,   1827. 


108*  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

• 

judice  had  been  broken  down  that  the  clamour  against  South 
ern  Influence  and  African  Slavery  could  be  made  effectual  in 
the  North."  He  also  called  Ritchie's  attention  to  the  fact 
that  in  former  times  "attacks  upon  Southern  Republicans 
were  regarded  by  those  of  the  North  as  assaults  upon  their 
political  brethren  and  resented  accordingly,"  and  that  this 
"all  powerful  sympathy  had  been  weakened,  if  not  destroyed, 
by  the  amalgamating  policy  of  Mr.  Monroe."  This  impor 
tant,  if  not  epoch  making  letter,  marked  the  first  application 
of  the  methods  of  the  local  spoilsmen  to  national  politics  and 
consummated  a  political  alliance  of  long  standing  between  the 
North  and  the  South.  It  had  been  written  at  the  instigation 
of  Calhoun  and  of  Ingham  of  Pennsylvania,  for  the  former 
of  whom  it  carried  a  dagger,  and  closed  with  the  assurance 
that  Ritchie  could  render  great  service  to  the  cause. 

In  less  than  one  month  after  his  initiation  to  the  secrets 
of  the  politicians  "higher  up,"  but  not  before  he  had  com 
mitted  the  Enquirer  irrevocably  to  Jackson's  candidacy, 
Tazewell  wrote  to  Ritchie  that  he  and  Van  Buren  had  dis 
cussed  "the  propriety,  nay  necessity,  of  establishing  a  journal 
in  the  city  (Washington)  which  should  be  a  suitable  organ 
of  the  views  and  opinions  of  the  opposition  in  Congress  both 
now  and  hereafter."  They  had  each  concurred  in  the  wish 
that  Ritchie  should  be  the  editor  of  the  proposed  paper  "in 
preference  to  any  other  editor  in  the  United  States."  No 
pledges  or  conditions  were  exacted,  arid  he  was  also  informed 
that  the  election  of  General  Jackson  was  only  a  secondary 
desire  with  them.  On  the  other  hand,  said  Tazewell,  "our 
great  wish  is  to  inculcate  and  to  keep  alive  by  frequent  repe 
tition  and  argument,  the  great  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  as  they  were  manifested  and  expressed  prior  to  1801. 
To  support  those  who  support  them,  and  to  oppose  those  who 
oppose  them." 

In  this  remarkable  letter,  marking  as  it  did  the  beginn 
ing  of  the  partisan  press  and  the  influence  of  the  party  organ, 
Tazewell  betrayed -the  prevailing  distrust  of  the  southern 
politicians  for  Van  Buren  and  gave  evidence  of  a  desire, 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  109 

which  later  manifested  itself  more  strikingly,  to  rule  or  ruin 
the  Republican  party.  aFor  my  part,"  said  he,  "I  look  for 
ward  beyond  the  4th  of  March,  1829.  Should  we  be  de 
feated  then,  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  a  new  departure. 
Should  we  then  succeed  (of  which  I  have  no  doubt)  it  is 
possible,  nay  probable,  that  our  party  will  soon  be  in  danger 
of  separating  from  the  very  fact  of  its  overwhelming  force 
and  unmanageable  numbers.  Then  will  arise  a  new  crisis, 
for  the  occurrence  of  which  timely  preparation  should  be 
made ;  &  I  feel  solicitous  that  a  Southern  Editor  should  have 
acquired  and  established  the  reputation  of  the  proposed 
Journal  before  that  day  arrives.  What  may  be  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  views  upon  this  point  of  the  subject  I  know  not,  nor 
does  he  know  mine.  In  your  reply,  therefore,  to  this  letter 
(which  I  shall  be  compelled  to  show  him)  you  will  not  of 
course  notice  this. 

"Many  reasons  exist  why  this  communication  should  be 
considered  by  you  as  strictly  confidential  for  the  present  at 
least."52 

It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  results  of  Ritchie's 
refusal  to  accept  this  offer.  He  gave  as  his  reasons  for  de 
clining  his  doubtful  qualifications  for  such  a  position  and 
his  attachment  to  Virginia.  He  preferred  to  rely  for  sup 
port  upon  "a  generous  people  than  to  be  dependent  in  any 
manner  upon  the  favor  of  a  Clique,  however  respectable,  or  to 
the  control  which  might  be  required  over  the  Government 
Press."  So  far  as  he  was  personally  concerned,  this  oppor 
tunity  may  have  been  the  tide  which,  had  it  been  seized, 
would  have  led  to  even  greater  national  fame  and  greatness 
than  that  later  attained  by  Francis  P.  Blair,  Duff  Green,  or 
any  of  the  other  great  editors  of  the  Jacksonian  era.  It  was 
the  only  opportunity  which  came  to  Ritchie  in  the  prime  of 
.his  life  to  enter  national  politics.  After  the  presidential 
election  of  1828  that  door  was  practically  closed,  because 
Jackson  could  not  forget  the  attitude  of  the  Enquirer  in  1819 

52  This  letter  is  the  property  of  Mrs.  Geo.  E.  Harrison,  of  Brandon, 
Virginia. 


110  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

) 

and  in  1824.  Besides,  Ritchie's  conciliatory  nature  and  con 
servative  tendencies  revolted  against  his  abrupt  and  uncom 
promising  disposition.  Had  he  entered  the  national  arena 
before  Jackson,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  have  been 
dislodged,  as  was  Duff  Green.  Instead,  he  would  have  re 
mained  as  a  co-worker  with  Van  Buren  in  maintaining  a 
balance  for  the  eccentric  head  of  the  government. 

It  is  equally  difficult  to  estimate  the  effects  of  Ritchie's 
refusal  upon  the  course  of  national  politics.  In  the  first 
place,  it  left  the  way  open  to  Francis  P.  Blair,  who  was  more 
nationalistic  in  his  views  and  less  soundly  versed  in  the  fed- 
eralistic  theories  of  statecraft.  In  their  fight  for  political 
preferment  Jefferson  and  Madison  had  revived  the  original 
and  true  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  federal  government. 
It  is  true  they  later  followed  its  practical  problems  into  the 
haunts  of  nationalism  and  centralization.  But  it  is  also 
true  that  they  sympathized  with  the  great  reaction  to  par 
ticularism,  which,  in  conjunction  with  an  awakened  democ 
racy,  had  made  the  Jacksonian  era  possible.  As  the  authora- 
tative  spokesman  of  the  Virginia  doctrines,  Ritchie's  oppor 
tunity  to  be  a  power  in  directing  the  ship  of  state  safely  be 
tween  the  shoals  of  democracy  and  of  nationalism  had  come 
and  gone  forever.  As  the  spokesman  of  a  great  party  he 
might  have  retarded  the  relegation  of  the  Virginia  doctrines 
to  the  junk  pile  of  "abstractions"  and  sustained  the  influence 
of  the  Border  as  a  leaven  for  the  decentralizing  forces  which 
were  now  working  at  the  South  and  for  the  centralizing  ten 
dencies  at  the  North.  The  effect  upon  the  body  politic, 
whether  to  defer  a  resort  to  arms  or  to  render  that  final 
arbiter  unnecessary,  lies  only  in  the  field  of  conjecture. 

Nevertheless  (Virginia  was  to  remain  for  a  long  time  the 
connecting  link  between  the  North  and  the  South  in  the 
political  alliance  which  Van  Buren  had  already  formulated. 
Under  the  circumstances  political  success  seemed  assured, 
and  the  Virginians  were  eager  for  the  fray.  IJnder  the  lead- 
ership  of  Tazewell,  Andrew  Stevenson,  Jorn^Ka^^p^  9""^ 

John    "Plpyd    in    national,    flrirl    "RitfOn'p     Oftn.    O.    DrnTncmnJP 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  111 

i 

Wm.  C.  Goode,  John  Y.  Masonr  and  W.  C.  Rives  in  local ] 
affairs,  they  began  to  play  the  political  game  as  it  had  never 
been  played  before  jnjhe  Old  ^o"minion7  y^They  had  thus 
fallen  easy  victims  to  the  spoils  system  and  fo  its~method:C 
To  their  own  ancflhe  gre^Fdelriment~"6T  those  who  came 
after  them,  Virginia  has  followed,  with  few  important  in 
terruptions,  the  'lead  of  New  York  ever  since,  even  to  the 
point  in  recent  times  of  dependence  upon  Tammany.  J^us 
State  sovereignty  received  its  most  vital  blow  at  a  time  when 
it  seemed  most  buoyant  and  when  the  attraction  of  the  flesh 
pots  was  most  tempting. 

Only  a  few  of  the  anti-administration  leaders  in  Virginia 
held  aloof  from  the  movement  inaugurated  by  Van  Buren, 
Tazewell,  and  John  Randolph  to  make  Jackson  President  and 
to  bury  their  minor  differences  for  the  accomplishment  of 
that  end.  Like  John  Tyler,  those  who  hesitated  .to  join  it 
were  friendly  to  Clay,  but  could  not  endorse  Adams.53  The 
others  looked  eagerly  to  the  time  when  Jackson  would  "reign 
but  not  rule"  in  the  White  House,  and  they  would  again  en 
joy  the  spoils  of  office.  Under  the  circumstances  federal  re 
lations  ceased  to  be  a  subject  of  serious  consideration,  though 
the  demands  of  the  North  had  become  more  pressing  and 
her  power  more  menacing.  It  was  a  time  only  for  concilia 
tion  and  union  among  the  opposition  forces.  Accordingly 
every  effort  was  made  to  convert  Tyler  and  those  similarly  ^ 
disposed  into  Jackson  men ;  Van  Buren's  plan  to  depose  Gales 
and  Seaton,  editors  of  the  National  Intelligencer,  by  depriv 
ing  them  of  the  public  printing,  and  to  entrench  Duff  Green, 
editor  of  the  United  States  Telegraph,  in  their  place  by  giv 
ing  the  public  printing  to  him,  was  praised  by  Ritchie  as  a 
patriotic  effort  "to  regulate  and  purify"  the  press.  Mean 
while  the  petulant  and  irritable  Giles,  to  avert  the  danger  of 
a  worse  calamity,  was  placed  in  the  governor's  chair;  Mc- 
Duffie  was  given  a  hearty  welcome  to  Richmond  at  the  same 
time  that  Van  Buren  and  his  friend  C'ambreleng  were  wel- 

B3  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  6,  1827. 


112  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

corned  to  the  Southland ;  and  the  talk  about  the  ambitions  of 
the  little  magician  to  reach  the  vice-presidency  and  ultimately 
the  presidency  as  the  political  heir  of  Jackson  was  pronounced 
a  avile  trick"  to  sow  discord  between  Van  Bur  en  and  his 
"friend"  Calhoun.54 

Assaults  from  the  Richmond  Whig  and  other  national 
istic  organs  exposing  his  inconsistency  in  supporting  Jack 
son  for  the  presidency,  did  not  dampen  Ritchie's  enthusiasm 
for  the  northern  alliance  and  its  program.  He  not  only  en 
dorsed  its  methods  but  in  some  instances  fathered  them. 
With  the  avidity  of  a  partisan  he  now  drank  toasts  to  Henry 
Clay,  "the  base  Judean,"  who  had  thrown  "a  pearl  (the  presi 
dency)  away,  richer  than  all  his  tribe,"  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 
At  the  same  time  he  praised  both  Van  Buren  and  Calhoun, 
and  did  not  believe  that  there  was  in  all  New  England  aa 
more  able  and  respectable  editor  than  Mr.  Hill  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Patriot"  or  in  the  whole  West  a  "more  powerful 
editor  than  Mr.  Kendall  of  the  Kentucky  Argus"  who  later 
became  members  of  the  "Kitchen  Cabinet."  He  also  became 
most  vehement  in  his  denial  of  the  existence  of  a  Junto  in 
Richmond,  which  thwarted  all  efforts  at  reform  and  distrib 
uted  from  its  Divan  all  patranaffeUtoh  local  and  federal. 
The  results  of  the  elections  of  1827  in  New  York  and  Penn 
sylvania  were  hailed  by  him  as  the  death  knell  of  the  admin 
istration.55  As  he  saw  it  there  was  just  one  question  to  be 
settled  in  the  coming  presidential  election,  viz:  "shall  the 
voice  of  this  country  call  him  (Andrew  Jackson)  forth  for 
four  years — for  four  years  only  will  he  serve"  or  "shall  it 
continue  J.  Q.  A.  for  another  four  years,  with  a  reversion  to 
his  present  Secretary  of  State  for  another  eight  years  after 
him  ?"  He  thought  it  much  better  to  take  a  military  chief 
tain  "badly  bred  and  with  an  impetuous  temper"  than  to 

\ 

54  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  20,  1827;  Ibid.,  February  22,  1827; 
Foote,  Casket  of  Reminiscences,  p.  24;  Richmond  Enquirer.  June  12. 
1827. 

ss  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  13,  1827;  Ibid.,  December  11, 
1827. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  113 

continue  a  "vicious  and  corrupt"  administration  conceived  in 
political  bargaining  and  reared  in  the  school  of  national 
ism.56  The  National  Intelligencer  now  spoke  of  him  as  the 
"sovereign  dictator  of  the  political  opinions  of  Virginia," 
and  lamented  the  condition  which  made  it  possible  for  a 
great  people  to  "be  led  about  by  a  weak  and  wicked  editor."  57 

After  the  meeting  of  the  Harrisburg  Convention  the^ 
tariff  played  the  important  part  in  the  work  of  president 
making.  As^the  spokesman  of  Virginia,  standing  as  she  did 
midway  between  the  pro-tariff  and  the  anti-tariff  strong 
hold^  Ritchie  had  a  difficult  position.  As  might  be  expected, 
he  took  a  conciliatory  attitude  hoping  that  the  South  would 
follow  the  lead  of  Virginia.  Nevertheless  he  endorsed  the 
plan  to  make  his  friend,  Andrew  Stevenson,  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  an  effort  to  control  all  tariff 
legislation  by  placing  the  appointment  of  the  committees  _in 
the  hands  of  a  southerner^  At  the  same  time  he  took  pains 
to  assure  the  whole  country  that  Governor  Giles'  radical 
message  on  the  subject  of  federal  relations  did  not  voice  the 
sentiment  of  Virginia,  and  to  warn  both  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  against  taking  steps  hostile  to  the  Union  either  on 
account  of  the  tariff  or  the  Indians.58  Although  he  dis 
trusted  their  friends  in  South  Carolina  he  now  regarded  the 
northern  alliance  as  the  more  important.  Accordingly  he 
frankly  admitted  the  legality  of  the  tariff  but  urged  only  its 
inexpediency.59  When  the  Carolinians  began  to  calculate 
the  value  of  their  alliance  with  the  North  and  to  threaten  the 
opposition  program  with  disruption,  Ritchie  visited  the 
Albany  Regency  in  its  divan  on  a  political  mission  and  later 
suggested  to  Van  Buren,  by  letter,  that  his  elevation  to  the 
governorship  of  New  York  had  opened  up  to  him  "another 
destiny  under  the  general  government."60 

56  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  26,  1827. 
87  Ibid.,  June  26,  1827. 

58  Ibid.,   February  26,   1828;    Ibid.,  March  4,   1828. 

59  Ibid.,   November   16,   1827. 

GO  Van  Buren  MSS.      Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  March  11,  1828. 


114  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Unlike  manj^V^iimms  the  South  Carolinians  regarded 
the  Tariff  JBill  of  1828  as  of  more  vital  concern  than  the 
"manuf acture  ofjjt  President _jofjthe  United  States."  Few 
of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  there,  as  elsewhere,  under 
stood  the  object  of  the  political  alliance  with  New  York. 
The  "Bill  of  Abominations"  was  a  direct  menace  to  their 
material  well  being  and  called  forth  vigorous,  and  in  some 
instances,  hostile  protests.  In  ten  days  after  its  passage  the 
whole  state  was  aflame  and  talk  of  secession  was  rampant. 
They  were  not  willing  to  stand  by  and  see  their  rights  and 
interests  bartered  away  as  the  price  of  promotion  for  a  favor 
ite  son,  and  were  thus  on  the  verge  of  passing  from  the  con 
trol  of  their  leaders.  But  Calhoun  was  reluctant  to  give  up 
his  political  friends,  both  in  Virginia  and  in  New  York,  and 
set  himself  to  the  task  of  converting  the  threatened  revolu 
tion  and  revolt  of  his  countrymen  into  an  orderly  and  con 
servative  resistance.  The  famous  Exposition  which  he 
worked  out  in  the  summer  of  1828  was  the  result  of  these 
efforts. 

To  a  patriot  concerned  only  temporarily  with  the  task  of 
president  making  and  the  duty  of  humiliating  Adams  and 
Clay,  the  conditions  in  South  Carolina  becanle  alarming. 
In  an  effort  to  find  campaign  material  ihe^National  Intelli 
gencer,  and  other  administration  prints,  charged  the  South 
Carolinians  with  disloyalty  and  insinuated  that  the  Virgin 
ians  were  parties  to  their  treasonable  designs.  In  this  new 
issue  Eitchie  saw  a  rear  danger  to  Jackson's  chances  of  reach 
ing  the  presidency.  Accordingly  he  addressed  letters  to  Cal 
houn,  Stevenson,  and  his  cousin,  Richard  E.  Parker,  to  de 
termine  their  attitude  toward  the  Union.  On  July  18th  he 
published  Calhoun's  reply,  which  expressed  loyalty  to  both 
Jackson  and  the  Union  and  the  belief  that  South  Carolina 
would  remain  "within  the  bounds  of  moderation"  in  her  op 
position  to  the  tariff.61  Later  he  pronounced  Stevenson  and 
Parker  sound  on  authoritative  information,  and  denied  that 

81  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  18,  1828;  Ibid.,  August  15,  1828. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  115 

Giles  had  been  disloyal,  as  charged,  in  1798.62  Meanwhile 
he  threatened  the  New  Yorkers  with  a  loss  of  their  political 
friends  in  the  South,  if  the  tariff  evils  were  not  remedied, 
and  conseled  the  Carolinians  to  use  moderation  in  their  op 
position  to  the  tariff.  He  would  have  had  Virginia  stand 
where  she  stood  in  1798  for  hoth  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of 
the  constitution,  which  would  have  admitted  of  a  liberal  com 
promise.  Should  she  fail  in  her  efforts  it  would  then  be  time 
for  the  South  to  resort  to  non-consumption  of  articles  pro 
duced  at  the  North,  and  to  raising  her  own  hogs,  horses,  and 
mules.  He  was  confident  that  other  steps  would  be  unneces 
sary,  because  he  already  detected  a  movement  on  the  part  of 
the  anti-tariff  interests  in  Maine,  New  York,  Massachusetts, 
and  the  West  to  prevent  the  Bill  of  Abominations  from  be 
coming  operative.63 

The  subject  of  internal  improve™ en ta  was  of  almost  a£^-— 
much  concern  to  Ritchie  as  the  tariff.    Locally^it  was  a  miic.h 
more  important  issue  in  the  campaign.     Operating  under  the 
General  Survey  Act,  Adams  was  at  that  time  trying  to  melt 
down  the  political  scruples  of  the  Virginians  "in  the  crucible 
of  mercenary  interests"  by  a  systematic  use  of  "political  en 
gineering  and  topographical  arguments ;"  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  Company  and  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal- -.? 
Company  had  secured  charters  and  were  inaugurating  sys-      ^'•jf 
terns  intended  to  make  western  Virginia  tributary  to  Balti 
more  and  Philadelphia;  and  New  York  and  Pennslvania  had^ 
already  outstripped  Virginia  in  the  race  to  tap  the  granary 
of  the  nation,  the  Ohio  Valley.     Disguise  it  as  they  wouldT) 
Jackson's  chief  strength  lay  in  the  western  counties  which 
were  most  interested  in  all  these  movements.     Accordingly  1 
Ritchie  now_said  little  about  the  cnnst-j^iti Quality  nf  federal     Tj 
appropriations  tpjworks  of  internal  imprpjrejnent.64     He  lost 
no  opportunity,  however,  to  urge  the  state  to  greater  activity 

in  the  construction  of  roads  and  canals,  and  again  renewed  ; 

-  '\J 

62  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  29,  1828;  lUd.,  August  12,  1828. 
83  Ibid.,  June  27,   1828;   Ibid.,  July  8,  1828. 
64  Ibid.,  March  1,  1828;  Ibid.,  May  30,  1828. 


116  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

'nis  assurances  that  Virginia  could  not  be  bribed  into  accept- 
..  ing  the  American  System  by  Adams'  topographical  argu- 
ments  or  by  an  occasional  appropriation  to  the  proposed  Dis- 
\_  mal  Swamp's  Canal  or  to  the  National  Road. 

Meanwhile  the  work  of  the  campaign  within  the  state  was 
proceeding  with  interest.  From  the  very  beginning  the  ad 
ministration  entertained  hope  of  carrying  it.  Ex-Governor 
James  Pleasants,  probably  the  most  beloved  and  popular  man 
then  in  active  politics  in  Virginia,  was  talked  of  as  a  proper 
running  mate  for  Adams;  both  Madison  and  Monroe  were 
placed  on  the  Adams  Electoral  Ticket;  although  he  had  not 
voted  in  twenty  years,  John  Marshall  was  induced  to  come 
forward  and  register  a  protest  against  the  unjust  assaults 
which  were  being  made  upon  the  administration;65  and  it 
was  everywhere  argued  that  the  election  of  John  Tyler  to  the 
federal  Senate  and  of  Wm.  B.  Giles  to  the  governorship 
pointed  to  the  triumph  of  Adams  in  the  general  election. 

Considering  his  interest  in  the  contest,  Ritchie's  indiffer 
ence  to  the  plans  and  the  activities  of  the  administration  to 
carry  Virginia  must  have  been  founded  upon  absolute  confi 
dence  in  his  position.  Before  they  declined  to  permit  the  use 
of  their  names  upon  the  Adams  Electoral  Ticket  he  pro 
nounced  the  attempt  to  drag  Madison  and  Monroe  into  the 
campaign  an  insult  to  them  and  a  disgrace  to  Virginia. 
Whatever  their  previous  attitude  may  have  been,  he  was  now 
certain  that  neither  Giles  nor  Tyler  was  opposed  to  the  elec 
tion  of  Jackson.  The  other  claims  of  the  opposition  went 
unnoticed,  and  the  Enquirer  continued  fo  devote  itself  to  the 
larger  aspects  of  the  campaign.  He  was  greatly  alarmed  lest 
the  anti-Masons  would  combine  with  the  administration  and 
carry  New  York,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky.  Thurlow  Weed's 
frequent  visits  to  Washington  and  the  influence  of  his  sub 
sidized  press  in  western  New  York  were  factors,  the  influence 
of  which  he  could  not  calculate.  On  the  other  hand  he  lost 

85  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  21,  1827;  Ibid.,  December  18,  1827; 
Ibid.,  January  12,  1828;  Ibid.,  March  4,  21,  1828;  Ibid.,  April  4,  1828; 
May  13,  182S. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  117 

no  opportunity  to  enlist  Crawford's  followers  under  Jackson's 
banner.  To  this  end  lie  quoted  from  a  letter  from  Crawford 
endorsing  the  candidacy  of  Jackson. 

Jackson's  election  was  no  surprise  to  Ritchie  who,  like 
Benton,  viewed  it  as  "a  triumph  of  democratic  principles, 
and  an  assertion  of  the  people's  right  to  govern  themselves." 
The  efforts  to  effect  it  had,  as  if  by  magic,  lifted  him  from 
the  groove  of  safe  precedent  and  prepared  him  for  valiant  ser 
vice  in  the  cause  of  a  new  democracy.  The  interest  of  the 
cause  had  eclipsed  the  unattractive  personality  of  the  un 
trained,  self-willed,  and  passionate  frontiersman  who  had  led 
the  Republican  hosts  to  victory.  It  was  therefore  a  feeling 
of  pure  patriotism  (he  never  asked  for  an  office)  which  later 
induced  him  to  join  that  motley  army  of  office-seekers,  per 
sonal  friends,  and  sight-seers  who  flocked  to  Washington  to 
see  the  "Old  Hero"  take  the  oath  which  made  him  President 
of  the  United  States  and  ushered  in  a  new  era  in  our  national 
life. 


US'  THOMAS  KITCHIE 


CHAPTER  V. 

REFORM   AND    NULLIFICATION. 

Immediately  following  the  presidential  election  of  1828 
the  partnership  which  had  existed  between  Ritchie  and  C. 
W.  Gooch  since  March,  1820,  as  joint  editors  of  the  Enquirer, 
was  dissolved,  and  with  his  tried  and  trusted  friend,  John  L. 
Cooke,   as  a  co-laborer,  Ritchie  entered  upon   a   period  of 
greater   and   more    effective   usefulness    in   both   local    and 
national  affairs.     A  planter  owning  several  large  estates  in 
eastern  Virginia,  Gooch  had,  like  others  of  his  class,  con 
sistently  opposed  all  efforts  at  reform  in  the  statutes  and 
fundamental  laws  of  the  state,  and  in  so  doing  had  developed 
opinions  radically  different  from  those  entertained  by  his 
colleague.    The  common  courtesy  of  its  editors  for  each  other 
had  thus  prevented  the  Enquirer  from  taking  an  active  part 
in  the  movement  about  to  culminate  in  a  constitutional  con 
vention  and  had  confined  it  almost  entirely  to  a  discussion  of 
national  affairs.    With  the  enthusiasm  and  spirit  of  a  Jack- 
sonian  Democrat  and  with  a  patriotic  sympathy  for  the  ideals 
and  movements  which  had  made  possible  the  political  revolu 
tion  of  1828,  Ritchie  now  cast  his  lot  with  the  reformers  to 
L-tbe  great  chagrin  and  alarm  of  the  plantation  aristocracy.1 
The  effect  of  his  course  in  both  local  and  national  politics,  in 
keeping  western  Virginia  true  to  the  principles  of  Jacksonian 
Democracy,  and  permeating  the  whole  Union  with  a  feeling 
of  patriotism,  has  not  been  understood  or  appreciated  even 
to  this  day.     It  was  a  factor  to  be  reckoned  with  in  Demo 
cratic  councils  down  to  1860,  in  producing  a  Union  sentiment 
in  eastern  Virginia,  and  in  keeping  western  Virginia  loyal 
to  the  federal  government  during  the  greatest  crisis  of  our 
history. 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  7,   1828;   Ibid.,  July  25,  1854. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  119 

Had  not  the  election  of  Adams  diverted  attention  from 
local  to  national  issues  and  had  not  the  indiscretion  of  Giles 
created  discord  within  the  Democratic-Republican  party  of 
the  state,  the  reform  movement,  set  in  motion  by  the  banking 
interests  of  western  Virginia  in  1816,  would  doubtless  have 
prevailed  before  1828.  It  came  near  succeeding  in  1825. 
Fortunately  for  Ritchie,  success  came  at  a  time  when  he  was 
free  to  throw  his  whole  force  in  the  direction  of  his  inclina 
tions.  Accordingly,  Jbe_united  with  the  westerners  in  their 
plans  for  controlling  the  organization  of  the  convention. 
Actuated  by  a  desire  to  clinch  the  main  point  at  issue,  they 
demanded  the  white  basis  of  representation,  which  would 
have  given  equal  numbers  of  delegates  for  equal  numbers  of 
voters  or  equal  numbers  of  the  white  population.  On  the 
other  hand  the  .easterners  desired  a  mixed  basis  which  would 
have  considered  property  as  well  as  population  as  a  basis  of 
representation  in  the  proposed  convention. 

With  the  fearlessness  of  a  true  reformer,  Ritchie  repeat 
edly  warned  the  lowlanders  that  both  necessity  and  principle 
required  acquiescence  in  the  demands  of  the  westerners. 
Great  and  peculiar  as  were  their  property  interests  he  felt 
that  the  slaveholders  could  not  now  afford  to  look  beyond  the 
great  general  principles  which  lay  at  the  basis  of  all  repre 
sentative  government.  He  therefore  found  no  excuse  for 
their  desire  to  give  a  free  man  in  a  large  county  less  power 
in  the  government  than  a  free  man  who  lived  in  a  small 
county,  to  make  the  vote  of  a  man  who  lived  in  Shenandoah 
count  for  only  one-twelfth  as  much  as  that  of  Hhe  man  who 
lived  in  Warwick,  and  to  maintain  an  oligarchy  under  the 
guise  of  a  democracy.  If  its  work  was  to  be  permanent,  if 
representative  government  was  not.  to  become  mockery,  and 
if  the  integrity  and  influence  of  the  Commonwealth  was  to  be 
maintained,  he  saw  and  urged  the  necessity  of  organizing  the 
proposed^convention  on  a  basis  of  equal  and  just  representa 
tion.2  ^lt  is  thus  evident  that  he  had  little  sympathy  with 

2  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  22,   1829. 


120  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

the  new  theories  regarding  the  rights  and  privileges  of  minor 
ities  in  government,  which  were  becoming  popular  in  the 
*"  older  sections  of  the  South  and  extending  themselves,  through 

4Calhoun's  influence,  into  the  national  councils/  On  the  con 
trary  he  remained  loyal  to  the  Jeffersonian  teachings  which 
had  endorsed  and  made  popular  the  (fule  of  the  majority) 
There  was,  therefore,  small  place  in  his  idea  of  the  proper 
comity  betwen  the  states  or  even  the  sections  for  an  exercise 
of  local  sovereignty  which  could  assert  its  latent  possibilities 
as  the  dictates  of  its  interest  demanded. 

Although  defeated  in  his  plans  for  the  organization  of 
the  proposed  convention,  Ritchie  continued  dauntless  in  the 
cause  of  reform.  While  the  election  of  delegates  was  in  pro 
gress  he  concerned  himself  especially  with  the  movement  to 
extend  the  suffrage  to  the  non-freeholders.  They  paid  a 
large  tax  upon  personal  property;  labored  upon  the  public 
highways;  bore  arms  in  times  of  war;  maintained  the  militia 
in  times  of  peace ;  and  he  saw  no  reason  why  they  should  not 
exercise  the  right  of  suffrage.  He  was  certain  that  their  ser 
vices  to  the  body  politic  were  ample  evidence  of  a  permanent 
common  interest  with  an  attachment  to  the  community  and 
that  their  duties  were  in  no  way  commensurate  with  their 
rights , and  privileges.  He  also  thought  it  contrary  to  the  Bill 
of  Rights  to  exclude  them  from  the  electorate,  and  suggested 
that  they  petition  the  constitutional  convention  for  a  redress 
of  grievances.3 

Although  his  proposed  reforms  were  far  reaching,  at  times 
tolerating  the  idea  of  woman  suffrage,4  Ritchie  thought  the 
time  inopportune  for  a  consideration  of  any  plans  for  the 
abolition  of  negro  slavery.  Accordingly  he  disapproved  of  the 
attempts  of  the  westerners  to  inject  that  subject  into  the  dis 
cussions  regarding  the  proposed  convention.  He  knew  that 
["this  sting  can  scarcely  be  touched  without  jarring  the  body 
politic,"  and  warned  all  that  its  discussion  would  "instantly 

9  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  14,  1829;  Ibid.,  October  15,   1829. 
4  Ibid,.,  October  20,  1829. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  121 

inflame  the  minds  of  the  eastern  members,  prove  a  source  of  \ 
discord,  and  distract  the  deliberations  of  that  assembly  more  \ 
than  all  other  points  of  required  concession."5  ^ 

Nevertheless  Ritchie  did  not  give  up  on  the  main  issues 
involved  and  continued  to  excoriate  the  slaveholding  aristoc 
racy  in  the  name  of  justice  and  of  progress.  His  abruptness 
in  breaking  through  the  crust  of  custom  and  the  sanctity  of 
privilege  with  which  the  aristocrats  clothed  their  long  estab 
lished  and  timidly  questioned  right  to  rule,  caused  many  to 
pity  him  and  others  to  wish  for  the  destruction  of  his  press. 
Those  whom  he  was  trying  to  aid  hardly  appreciated  his 
situation  sufficiently  to  be  helpful.  They  did,  however,  rush 
to  his  aid  with  subscriptions,  raising  the  total  number  of 
those  taking  the  Enquirer  to  5,000,  and  increasing  that  num 
ber  at  the  rate  of  three  daily  during  the  month  of  July,  1829, 
and  thus  making  it  possible  for  Ritchie  to  win  his  way  to  the 
hearts  of  the  westerners.  Encouraged  by  these  evidences  of 
approval  and  buoyant  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  he,  in  the 
face  of  the  hostile  east,  enlarged  the  size  of  his  paper,  pur 
chased  new  type,  confessed  his  former  errors  in  neglecting 
the  interests  of  the  people,  and  recommitted  himself  to  the 
cause  of  reform. 

Amid  the  talk  of  dismemberment  and  the  counter  attacks 
of  the  easterners  and  the  westerners  in  that  memorable  con 
vention  which  met  in  Richmond  in  October,  1829,  Ritchie 
continued  to  demand  reforms.  His  demands  became  even  in 
sistent  and  impetuous.  After  weeks  of  debate  and  fruitless 
effort  in  whidFTlie  respective  rights  of  a  majority  and  a 
minority  in  government  were  clearly  and  forcefully  set  forth 
by  such  debaters  as  Benjamin  W-  I^igh,  Abel  P.  TTpsTrm^ 
Chapman  Johnson,  John  Tyler,  Littleton  W.  TazewclL' 
John  Randolph,  and  W.  B.  Giles  on  one  side,  and  Philip, 
Doddridge,  C.  F.  Mercer,  Briscoe  G.  Baldwin,  Judge  Lewis 
Summers,  and  Alexander  Campbell  on  the  other,  with  two 
ex-presidents,  Madison  and  Monroe^  and  the  Chief  Justice  of 

0  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  24,   1829. 


122  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

the  United  States,  John  .Marshall,  as  referees,  the  eastern 
aristocrats  suddenly  awoke  to  the  fact  that  their  antagonists'" 
most  trusted  sentinel  was  located  in  Richmond  in  the  office 
of 'the  Enquirer.  When  they  handed  down  their  ultimatum 
the  most  that  lie  would  concede  was  compromise.  Accord 
ingly  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  destroy  the  Enquirer 
by  establishing  a  pro-eastern  and  a  pro-slavery  press  in  Rich 
mond.  The  best  description  of  this  incident,  together  with 
the  attending  circumstances,  is  found  in  the  following  ex 
tracts  of  a  not  wholly  disinterested  letter  written  some  years 
later  by  C.  W.  Gooch  to  Van  Buren : 

"I  have  been  to  Mr.  Ritchie  and  his  family — a  friend — a  brother — 
a  child — a  Father — a  Benefactor.  He  knows  it — he  feels  it!  On 
several  occasions  I  have  had  the  bread  of  his  five  children  in  my 
hands !  During  the  session  of  our  Convention,  the  whole  of  Eastern 
Virginia  (including  some  of  his  nearest  relations)  were  exasperated 
at  hi-s  course.  They  were  determined  to  destroy  him  and  his  press. 
Deputies  from  many  counties  came  to  Richmond;  the  Members  of  the 
Convention  and  of  the  Legislature  and  others  had  Meeetings  or  Cau 
cuses* — they  understood  one  another — and  appointed  a  large  Committee 
of  Management  to  get  up  a  press  they  could  support.  That  Com 
mittee  had  several  meetings  to  select  an  Editor.  My  name  was  promptly 
brought  forward;  but  two  personal  friends  told  the  meeting  that 
they  would  vouch  for  my  declining  any  offer  they  could  make;  that 
I  stood  peculiarly  related  to  the  Enquirer;  the  Editor  of  that  paper 
was  my  friend,  and  owed  me  $10,000,  (which  he  has  since  paid)  for  my 
interest  in  the  paper — that  independent  as  I  was,  and  this  debt  over 
Mr.  R's  head  &  my  intimacy  &  good  feeling  with  him  &  his  family, 
it  was  impossible  for  me  to  think  of  the  proposition;  and,  the  more 
especially,  since  I  had  quitted  the  paper  but  a  short  time  &  could 
take  it  back  &  control  it,  if  I  thought  proper.  They  then  looked 
out  for  another;  but  they  could  not  agree  upon  any  man;  and  in- 
s feted  that  my  friends  should  make  the  proposition,  and  assure  me 
that  within  ten  days,  $10,000  should  be  paid  me  in  money,  the  price 
for  2,000  subscriptions;  that  they  would  contribute  original  matter 
and  make  such  exertions  as  should  insure  unprecedent  success  to  the 
paper.  These  propositions  were  accordingly  submitted  to  me.  I  could 
give  but  one  answer.  No.  But  seeing  the  course  things  must  take  in 
the  Convention,  and  that  the  excitement  about  the  white  basis  would 
soon  subside,  I  gladly  seized  the  opportunity  of  preventng  the  enlist 
ment  &  pledged  devotion  of  more  than  half  the  State,  in  a  crusade 
against  the  Enquirer,  and  the  more  especially  when  I  saw  that 
Calhounism*.  was  the  next  great  object  of  the  leaders  in  this  business. 
Under  these  circumstances  I  asked  8  or  10  days  to  think  of  the 
matter  &  make  my  decision;  going1  at  once  to  Mr.  Ritchie  &  telling 
him  to  quiet  his  alarms,  repeating  all  the  circumstances  (but  names) 
and  informing  him  what  was  my  predetermined  decision,  &  my  motives 
for  delay.  Mr.  R.  was  truly  alarmed,  but  my  frank  declarations  trans- 
steribed  him  into  a  moving  shadow  over  the  room.  His  tears  witnessed 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  123 

the  sincerity  of  his  declarations  when  he  said  if  I  would  not  embark 
in  such  a  scheme,  he  defied  any  other  man.  It  was  a  critical  time  in 
the  fortunes  of  his  paper.  The  eighth  or  ninth  day  after,  when 
.Gordon's  compromise  had  been  adopted  in  the  Convention,  and  the 
minds  of  men  had  been  freed  of  an  excitement  of  which  I  partook 
like  others,  since  my  property  was  likely  to  be  taxed  by  men  who  had 
no  property,  etc. — when  I  saw  the  calm  so  rapidly  succeeding  the 
tempest,  I  made  my  decision  in  form,  and  communicated  with  the 
Committee.  I  protested  against  throwing  the  Enquirer  over  board, 
because  Mr.  Ritchie  was  in  favor  of  the  white  basis;  that  it  was  a 
paper  more  devoted  to  federal  politics  than  any  thing  else;  that 
upon  almost  every  other  point  that  far  he  had  gone  wth  lower 
Virginia — that  the  Convention  would  soon  adjourn  with  a  Constitution 
which  the  people  would  ratify,  &  that  we  should  be  thrown  back  upon 
federal  politics  in  all  our  political  movements — and  that  in  these 
respects  I  was  not  aware  of  any  difference  in  mine  and  Mr.  R's 
opinions.  I  explained  the  personal  relationship  and  connection  between 
us,  and  the  impropriety  at  that  time  of  setting  up  a  new  paper.  But, 
that  when  Mr.  Ritchie  did  not  support  the  Administration  of  Gen. 
Jackson  as  he  ought;  whenever  he  showed  a  leaning  to  either  Clay  or 
Calhoun,  or  to  their  opposite  policies,  then  I  would  embark  under  such 
nattering  offers,  and  apply  myself  again  to  what  I  knew  to  be  the 
most  slavish,  the  most  disagreeable,  nay,  revolting  employments.  The 
Managers  in  this  Matter,  including  my  personal  friends,  were  then 
covertly  and  are  now  ardent  Calhoun  Men  &  Nullifiers.  To  such 
men  my  answer  was  decisive.  In  the  meantime  the  friends  of  the 
Administration  had  become  satisfied  with  the  Compromise  in  the 
Convention,  &  their  ardor  for  a  new  paper  had  cooled  down.  As  you 
may  suppose,  the  subject  was  dropped  for  a  time.  I  had  anticipated 
this  result.  The  little  Calhoun  party,  however,  being  thus-  foiled 
rallied  after  a  while  upon  their  own  supposed  strength,  and  set  up  the 
Jeffersonian  Republican,  which  found  a  circulation  only  on  the  south 
side  of  the  James  River  &  in  some  of  the  Calhoun  States.  It  proved 
a  losing  business,  tho'  it  struggled  on  to  this  winter  when  the 
Coalition  between  Clay  &  Calhoun  caused  its  amalgamation  with  the 
Whig.  The  hostility  to  the  Enquirer  has1  been  kept  up,  and  has  in 
creased  so  much  that  Mr.  R.  was  near  being  ousted  as  public  printer. 
His  enemies  are  confident  of  success  at  the  next  Session,  &  I  fear 
will  succeed.  Many  of  the  cordial  friends  of  the  Administration  voted 
against  him  on  account  of  the  milk  &  water  course  he  pursues.  He 
was,  in  fact,  only  saved  by  the  Clay  men  and  old  federalists  who  are 
afraid  of  Nullification." 
1 1 

Ritchie  emerged  from  the  exasperating  and  initimidating 
experiences  of  the  constitutional  convention  stronger  than 
when  he  entered  it.  Threats  to  dismember  the  Common 
wealth  and  attempts  to  destroy  his  press  caused  him  to  mod 
ify  his  attitude  toward  and  his  "rash"  statements  about  the 

lowlanders  and  to  endorse  the  compromise  which  they  pro- 

> 

8  Van  Buren   MSS. 


124:  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

posed  as  a  settlement  of  the  differences  between  the  sections 
about  representation.  Nevertheless  his  heart  continued  to 
overflow  with  sympathy  for  the  "men  beyond  the  mountains," 
whom  he  was  ever  ready  to  admit  on  a  basis  of  equality  to 
a  share  in  the  common  traditions  and  achievements  of  the 
Old  Dominion.7  His  reluctance  in  accepting  the  constitu 
tion  of  1830  was  ample  proof  that  intimidation  had  not  pro 
duced  conviction.  Now  that  the  slaveholders  had  won  with 
out  establishing  an  independent  press,  he  continued  as  their 
spokesman,  but  was  henceforth  the  acknowledged  leader~of 
the  Jacksonian  Democrats  of  the  uplands. 

Meanwhile  national  politics  had  assumed  an  alarming 
aspect.  The  tariff  agitation  of  1827  and  the  passage  of  the 
act  of  1828  had  inflamed  the  South  to  the  point  of  conflagra 
tion.  John  Randolph  continued  to  hold  high  the  standard  of 
revolt;  Dr.  Cooper,  the  apostle  of  the  Manchester  doctrines 
of  laissez-faire  and  free  trade,  was  calculating  the  value  of 
the  Union ;  agricultural  societies  met  to  protest  and  threaten ; 
and  the  South  Carolina  delegation  were  on  the  point  of  vacat 
ing  their  seats  in  the  federal  Congress.  It  was  not  evident 
how  far  Calhoun's  desires  to  be  the  leader  of  his  section 
would  carry  him  into  the  paths  of  Nullification  or  when  the 
keen  appetite  of  the  protectionists  would  be  satisfied.  It  was 
evident  though  that  a  reaction  against  Adams'  vain  but  not 
unpopular  attempt  to  erect  "light-houses  of  the  skies"  and 
to  lay  low  the  mountains  by  a  liberal  interpretation  of  the 
constitution  was  at  hand,  but  it  was  equally  evident  that 
every  step  of  the  movement  would  be  fought  most  stubbornly 
by  that  arch  strategist,  Henry  Clay. 

Though  sympathizing  most  heartily  with  the  strict  con 
struction  program,  Ritchie  saw  danger  ahead  for  the  new  ad 
ministration.  That  danger  lay  within  the  party,  and  his 
tory  had  taught  him  that  internal-  discord  was  fatal  to  vigor 
ous  party  life.  A  time  for  conciliation  and  compromise  had 
thus  arrived.  Accordingly  he  advocated  a  return  to  the  Vir- 

7  Richmond  Enquirer,   December    3,    1829. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  125 

•/ 

ginia  doctrines  of  '98  as  a  happy  and  constitutional  mean 
between  the  unconstitutional  tendencies  toward  nationalism 
at  the  North  and  the  equally  unconstitutional  tendencies  to 
ward  Nullification  in  South  Carolina.  Either  tendency  ad 
mitted  of  no  compromise  and  thus  vitiated  both  the  spirit 
and  the  letter  of  the  federal  compact  which  was  itself  a  bun 
dle  of  compromises.^'  He  lamented  the  fact  that  the  sections 
had  gone  so  far  adrift  in  their  contest  for  material  gain  and 
political  advantage  as  to  lose  sight  of  the  spirit  and  nature 
of  the  federal  government.  With  a  view  to  recalling  his  coun 
trymen  to  original  principles  he  therefore  embarked  upon  a 
campaign  of  education.  To  this  end  Edmund  Pendleton's 
famous  essay,  written  in  1801  after  the  Jeffersonian  triumph, 
and  entitled  "The  Danger  not  Over,"  was  republished  in  the 
Enquirer;*  protests  were  made  against  the  attempts  to  place 
the  federal  Senate  in  control  of  the  opposition ;  and  a  move 
ment  was  launched  for  a  federal  convention  to  aid  in  recall 
ing  the  country  to  original  principles  and  in  settling  by  com 
promise  the  questions  involved  in  the  application  of  the  fed 
eral  constitution.9 

Like  the  elder  statesmen  of  Virginia  and  elsewhere, 
Ritchie,  despite  his  avowals  of  1828,  had  no  exalted  opinion 
of  Jackson's  ability  as  a  statesman  and  a  constructive  leader. 
Least  of  all  did  he  consider  him  a  conciliator  and  a  compro 
miser.  He  had  accepted  the  Old  General's  candidacy  in  the 
hope  that  his  popularity  would  blast  the  ambitions  of  those 
engaged  in  the  "corrupt  bargain"  and  make  it  possible  for 
wiser  heads  to  restore  the  government  of  the  fathers.  For 
himself  he  had  already  undertaken  in  a  most  patriotic  spirit 
what  he  conceived  to  be  his  part  in  this  noble  work.  Consid 
ering  the  contemplated  revival  of  the  power  and  influence  of 
the  states  it  is  not  strange  that  he  had  elected  to  perform  his 
services  at  Richmond  instead  of  going  to  Washington.  His 
first  duty  had  ever  been  to  Virginia,  and  he  now  considered 
her  leadership  necessary  to  make  the  political  revolution  of 

8  Richmond  Enquirer,  December   6,    1828. 
B  Ibid.,  December  18,  22,  1828. 


126  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

1828  effective.  She  was  allied  to  the  West  by  the  strongest 
ties  of  interest,  and  her  relations  with  the  South  were  such  as 
to  call  for  all  the  "prudence  of  the  head"  and  all  the  "ener 
gies  of  the  heart."  Therefore  he  did  not  see  why  a  free  and 
vigorous  press  in  Virginia  could  not  aid  materially  in  curbing 
the  ambition  of  the  former  and  in  restraining  the  ardent  and 
centrifugal  forces  of  the  latter,  while  it  at  the  same  time 
opposed  the  encroaching  domination  of  the  North  and  the 
East.10 

Ritchie's  position  was  clearly  evident  from  his  attitude 
toward  and  advice  to  the  newly  elected  President.  Though 
willing  to  entrust  the  patriotic  duty  to  other  and  younger 
heads,  he  urged  the  necessity  of  a  press  in  Washington  that 
would  dare  to  "speak  the  truth  to  the  Court  and  to  the  Peo 
ple."  Familiar  with  what  he  considered  the  "Old  Hero's"  be 
setting  weaknesses  he  also  made  bold  to  advise  that  he  devote 
his  whole  energies  to  the  services  of  his  country,  that  he  sur 
round  himself  by  able  men,  that  he  avoid  the  delusions  of 
ambition  and  the  seductions  of  passion,  that  he  aid  in  restor 
ing  the  government  to  its  original  conceptions,  and  that  he 
show  moderation  in  the  use  of  victory.  He  had  always  con 
sidered  that  it  was  one  thing  to  win  victories  but  quite  an 
other  to  use  and  improve  them.11 

Whatever  may  have  been  his  distrust  of  the  chieftain 
under  whom  they  had  fought,  there  is  every  evidence  that 
Ritchie  understood  the  importance  of  the  victory  achieved 
by  the  Democrats  in  1828,  They  had  broken  through  the 
line  of  safe  precedent  under  the  slogan  "measures  not  men," 
inaugurating  a  new  era  similar  to  that  inaugurated  by  the 
Democratic  revolution  of  1801.  However,  deluded  he  may 
have  been  about  the  importance  of  "measures"  in  this  per 
sonal  triumph  of  a  military  hero,  sufficient  measures  and 
principles  were  at  stake  to  render  necessary  political  accord 
within  the  victorious  party  if  that  victory  was  to  be  improved. 


10  Richmond   Enquirer,   November    21,    1828. 

11  Ibid.,  November  21,  25,  1828. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  127 

Accordingly  he  used  every  energy  to  steer  clear  of  the  rocks 
of  internal  discord.  He  considered  it  a  time  to  bind  up  the 
ties  of  friendship  and  to  soothe  the  lacerated  feelings  of  those 
who  had  been  injured  by  eight  years  of  bitter  party  warfare, 
a  time  to  restore  the  press  to  a  due  consideration  of  virtue 
and  intelligence,  a  time  to  restore  the  purity  of  our  institu 
tions,  and  a  time  to  develop  the  internal  resources  of  our  com 
mon  country.  In  reply  to  the  rumor  that  Van  Buren  and 
Oalhoun  already  sought  the  presidency  as  the  successors  of 
Jackson  in  1832,  he  entreated  the  politicians  and  the  editors 
to  "save  Rome"  from  her  enterprising  and  ambitious  citizens 
and  to  give  the  people  a  rest  from  the  madness,  the  folly,  and 
the  heart-sickening  effects  of  political  strife.  Had  his  ad 
vice  been  followed,  granting  that  he  himself  would  have  been 
willing  to  abide  by  it  permanently,  Eitchie  might  today  be 
rated  among  the  great  statesmen  as  well  as  among  the  great 
editors. 

As  the  cabinet  was  expected  to  perform  the  most  impor 
tant  executive  functions  under  the  new  order  of  things,  and 
as  the  leading  politicians  of  Virginia  expected  to  occupy  the 
most  important  places  in  that  body,  Ritchie  approached  all 
discussions  regarding  it  with  a  degree  of  caution.  He  did  not  \ 
share  the  common  distrust  of  Van  Buren,  nor  was  he  keen  \ 
for  the  promotion  of  those  radical  state  rights  men  who  were 
willing  to  play  fast  and  loose  with  Clay  for  political  advan-  , 
tages.  It  is  not  certain,  however,  that  he  had  been  admitted 
to  those  administration  secrets  which  contemplated  sending 
the  leaders  of  the  old  school  to  oblivion.  He,  therefore, 
quietly  acquiesced  in  the  local  movement  to  make  Tazewell, 
the  solon  of  the  Virginia  lowlands,  the  premier  of  the  new 
administration.  JSTor  did  he  express  a  doubt  that  Floyd,  who 
had  refused  to  stand  for  a  re-election  to  Congress,  would  be 
called  to1  aid  in  the  patriotic  work  of  recalling  the  government 
to  original  principles.  Meanwhile,  the  Enquirer  lost  no  op 
portunity  to  urge  Jackson  to  an  independent  course  in  the 
selection  of  his  advisers.  Although  conspicuous  because  of 
the  absence  of  Virginians,  he  was  therefore  able  to  announce 


128*  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

the  names  of  the  new  cabinet  with  disappointment  but  not 
with  regret.  Had  local  conditions  permitted,  he  doubtless 
would  have  had  even  less  hesitancy  in  seeing  the  line  of  suc 
cession  pass  to  the  younger  statesmen. 

Mistaking  his  praise  of  the  elder  statesmen  in  Virginia 
for  sympathy  with  their  ambitions,  it  was  not  long,  however, 
before  the  editorial  world  began  to  chide  Ritchie  about  the 
"crop  of  sour  grapes"  there.  It  was  noted,  moreover,  that 
despite  the  inclemency  of  the  season,  the  crop  was  unusually 
large  but  of  a  variety  that  would  never  ripen.  He  endured 
this  pleasantry  until  it  reached  a  point  beyond  which  for 
bearance  ceased  to  be  a  virtue  and  until  some  of  the  smaller 
plums  had  been  allotted  to  the  lesser  politicians,  and  then  he 
notified  the  amused  public  that  there  were  no  sour  grapes  in 
Virginia  and  that  Tazewell  had  never  desired  a  place  in  the 
cabinet.12  He  could  not  say  as  much  for  Floyd  and  refrained 
from  saying  anything.13 

\The  slight  shown  the  elder  statesmen  in  the  formation 
of  the  cabinet  did  not  concern  Ritchie  half  so  much  as  the 
other  innovations  introduced  by  Jacksonj  Inured  to  the 
methodical  habits  of  the  Virginia  dynasty  and  to  those  tenets 
of  conservatism  which  made  the  Old  Dominion  a  power  when 
she  had  giants  in  politics  but  later  left  her  stranded  high  and 
in  the  march  of  progress,  the  practical  application  of 
ie  spoils  system  shocked  him.j  But  he  had  cast  his  lot  with 
the  new  regime  as  a  matter  of  patriotism  and  was  determined 
to  fight  within  the  party  rather  than  out  of  it.  On  April  14, 
1829,  he  protested  by  letter  to  Van  Buren,  thus  early  recog 
nizing  him  as  the:  power  behind  the  throne,  against  the  con 
sideration  being  shown  the  army  of  office  seekers  which 
thronged  the  federal  capital.  He  feared  that  they  would 
hasten  the  calculations  of  the  politicians  by  sending  Jack 
son  to  an  untimely  grave.  He  therefore  advised  that  the 
President  himself  peremptorily  refuse  to  converse  with  all 

12  Richmond  Enquirer,   March    10,   1829. 

13  Floyd  MSS.     Floyd  to  Col.  John  Williams,  December  27,  1830. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  129 

I 

applicants  for  office.  Instead  he  urged  that  the  whole  matter 
he  turned  over  to  secretaries  empowered  with  authority  to 
investigate  each  and  every  application  and  to  make  recom 
mendations.  Under  such  conditions  he  predicted  a  quiet  dis 
persal  of  the  office  seekers  and  the  restoration  of  a  sounder 
tone  to  the  body  politic.  He  was  equally  alarmed  at  the 
growing  practice  of  appointing  editors  to  office  as  a  reward 
for  political  or  other  service.  "It  is  with  great  reluctance," 
said  he,  "I  speak  upon  this  point.  I  am  seriously  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  too  many  of  these  appointments  have 
been  made ;  and  certainly  of  all  the  measures  of  the  present 
adm.  it  is  the  only  one  which  has  produced  a  deep  and  serious 
impression  among  its  friends  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
Is  it  not  time  to  stop  ?  The  more  you  appoint,  the  more,  I 
fear,  will  harass  you  for  office.7'14 

After  an  attempt,  only  partly  successful,  to  conciliate 
the  proud  and  ambitious  Virginians  and  to  lay  the  basis  of  a 
new  Democracy  with  them  by  sending  Tazewell  to  the  Eng 
lish,15  Randolph  to  the  Russian,  and  Rives  to  the  French 
court,  by  making  other  liberal  uses  of  the  spoils,  and  by  re 
affirming  her  political  faith,  interest  was  suddenly  diverted 
from  the  administration,  as  such,  by  a  movement  for  the  an 
nexation  of  Texas.  Mexico  was  being  threatened  with  a  loss 
of  her  independence,  and  under  the  circumstances  it  was 
feared  that  her  northeastern  provinces  would  be  disposed  of 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  a  menace  to  the  further 
growth  and  development  of  the  United  States.  Our  subjects 
were  already  pouring  into  Texas  in  an  effort  to  extend  our 
territory.  As  all  such  movements,  this  one  received  the  en 
dorsement  of  the  folk  at  home,  and  the  articles  by  "Ameri- 
canus,"  believed  to  have  been  Thomas  H.  Benton,  urging 
annexation,  were  republished  in  the  press  of  the  whole  coun 
try  and  received  with  popular  favor.16 

•, 

14  Van  Buren  MSS. 

15  Tazewell  declined  the  appointment.     Van  Buren  HSS.     Tazewell 
to  Jackson,  March  30,  1829. 

19  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  8,   1829. 


130  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  National  Intelligencer 
saw  in  the  proposed  annexation  the  creation  of  a  new  West, 
which  would  depopulate  Virginia  by  opening  up  new  lands 
to  her  citizens  and  eventually  dismember  the  Union  by  mak 
ing  the  slaveholding  power  formidable,  Ritchie  wanted  Texas 
and  wanted  it  then.  Ever  since  the  South' s  unfortunate 
acquiescence  in  the  Missouri  Compromise,  he  had  looked  to 
Texas  as  a  compensation  for  what  it  had  then  lost.  Fully 
versed  in  the  expansive  powers  of  a  slaveholding  society  he 
knew  that  elbow  room  was  necessary  to  sustain  the  power  and 
prestige  of  the  South.  Besides,  there  were  other  circum 
stances  which  now  made  Texas  desirable.  He  believed  Mex 
ico  ready  to  sell,  and  thought  the  purchase  necessary  to  re 
move  the  dangers  of  British  aggression.17  Then,  too,  the 
purchase  of  Texas  might  be  used  as  a  master  stroke  by  Jack 
son  to  allay  party  discords  and  to  stifle  opposition,  as  Jeffer 
son  had  used  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  to  accomplish  similar 

.ends.18 „ . 

~Even  Texas  could  not  divert  the  attention  of  the  ^South 
Carolinians  and  the  disappointed  Virginians  from  the  tariff. 
It  had  not  taken  a  year  to  convince  them  of  their  impotency 
at  court  and  of  the  doubts  surrounding  the  political  triumph 
of  1828.  Nevertheless  they  had  strong  ground  of  hopeful 
ness  for  a  redress  of  their  material  grievances  i&«4ke  sup 
posed  anti-tariff  attitude  of  Jackson.  This  was  doubtless  the 
reason  why  they  had  said  so  little,  except  in  their  private  cor 
respondence,  about  his  indifference  toward  their  political 
pretensions  and  about  the  promotion^of  the  "little  Magician" 
to  the  premiership.  The  first  annual  message  had  tickled 
their  fancy  regarding  the  tariff,  and  the  Exposition  had  not 
yet  wrought  its  mission.  Thus  while  some  of  the  state  leg 
islatures,  notably  that  of  Pennsylvania,  were  nominating 
Jackson  for  re-election,  they  offered  no  serious  opposition, 
planning  and  hoping  all  the  time  to  control  the  policies  of  his 


17  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  8,  22,   1829. 

18  Ibid. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  131 


second  administration.  This  is  why  Jackson's  toast, 
Federal  Union;  it  must  be  preserved,"  given  on  April  13, 
1830,  at  the  celebration  of  Jefferson's  birthday,  surprised 
them.  It  meant  simply  that  the  Union  would  be  preserved 
regardless  of  what  became  of  the  tariff  or  of  what  course  the 
Nullifiers  ultimately  took. 

As  with  Jackson  so  with  Ritchie,  there  was  much  doubt 
about  the  ends  to  which  his  anti-tariff  sentiments  would  lead. 
For  once  he  had  ventured  to  disagree  with  his  teacher,  Madi 
son,  in  insisting  that  a  protective  tariff  was  unconstitutional 
and  not  merely  inexpedient.19  But  at  the  same  time  he  had 
tried  to  reconcile  the  Virginia  planters  to  the  existing  condi 
tions  by  inducing  them  to  employ  their  slave  labor  in  fac 
tories.  Thus  he  hoped  to  make  the  South  self-sufficing  and  a 
recipient  of  the/  protective  policy.20  Moreover,  he  had  wel 
comed  Van  Buren,  the  supposed  custodian  of  the  northern 
interests,  to  Eichmond  in  1829;  he  had  declared  for  Jack 
son's  re-election  almost  three  months  before  the  Legislature 
of  /Pei^isylvania  ;  and  he  had  complaisantly  acquiesced  in 
denying  to  Floyd  and  Tazewell  a  place  of  influence  in  the 
new  administration.21  When  he  could  see  no  more  in  Jack 
son's  toast  than  a  'mild  warning  to  all  parties,"  Calhoun, 
Tazewell,  and  Floyd  needed  no  other  proof  that  the  Enquirer 
would  be  henceforth  for  Jackson  and  a  united  Democratic 
party  regardless  of  the  tariff  or  anything  else.22 

During  the  days  immediately  following  Jackson's  bold 
declaration  for  the  Union,  the  Nullifiers  became  more  aggres 
sive.  By  a  confusion  of  their  own  doctrines  with  those  of 
'98  they  hoped  to  drive  Ritchie  and  other  strict  construc- 
tionists  into  an  active  alliance.  But  the  wily  editor  of  the 
Enquirer  continued  to  condemn  their  schemes  as  inoppor 
tune  and  ill-advised.  In  able  expositions  of  the  Virginia 
doctrines  based  upon  his  political  Bible.  (Madison's  Report), 

19  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  27,  1828;   Hid.,  January  3,  1829. 

20  Ibid.,  January  27,   1829. 

21  Ibid.,  January  12,  30,  1829. 

22  Ibid.,  April  20,  23,  1830;  Ibid.,  June  4,  1830. 


132  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

j* 

he  showed  that  they~were  unlike  and  preferable  to  Nullifica 
tion.  At  the  same  time  he  made  every  effort  to  keep  Jackson 
true  to  the  strict  construction  theory  of  the  federal  constitu 
tion,  hoping  thereby  to  counteract  the  Nullification  move 
ment  by  a  milder  and  more  logical  method  of  opposition  to 
^\  the  tariff.  To  this  end  he  urged,  through  Van  Buren,  a  veto 
of  the  Maysville  Bill  on  constitutional  grounds  as  an  achieve 
ment  "more  glorious  than  the  Victory  of  New  Orleans}"23 

Though  he  did  not  entirely  approve  the  principles  of 
Jackson's  veto  of  the  Maysville  Bill,  he  accepted  it  as  a  vin 
dication  of  the  middle  course  between  nullification  and  cen 
tralization,  and  assured  the  public  that  it  would  be  harmless 
to  the  administration  even  in  the  West.  His  belief  in  its 
beneficient  effects  both  as  a  means  to  restrain  Nullification 
and  vindicate  the  Virginia  doctrines  was  clearly  set  forth  in 
a  letter  to  his  brother  Archibald,  from  which  the  annexed 
extract  is  taken: 

"I  have  this  day  had  a  long  conversation  with  Stevenson,  and 
a  pretty  long  one  with  McDuffie.  I  infer  from  the  remarks  and  tone 
of  the  latter  that  the  storm  in  S.  Carolina  is  blowing  over  that  the 
proceeding^  of  Congress  for  the  last  few  days  previous  to  adjourn 
ment  will  have  the  effect  of  tranquilizing  her  excited  politicians  and 
of  putting  aside  the  measure  of  nullification.  I  told  him  very  plainly 
that  in  my  opinion  Virginia  would  not  co-operate  in  such  a  measure. 
He  said  that  the  most  the  politicians  of  S.  C.  had  thought  of  doing 
was  to  declare  the  Tariff  null  and  void  by  a  Convention,  and  then 
leaving  it  to  her  Juries  to  refuse  giving  judgments  on  the  Revenue 
Bonds.  He  seemed  to  think  that  even  this  course  would  now  be 
abandoned,  though  he  said  he  had  no  idea  that  Congress,  organized 
as  it  now  was,  would  modify  the  Tariff  so  as  to  make  it  acceptable  or 
tolerfebLe  to  his  state.  I  suggested  to  him  that  the  measure  might 
be  got  rid  of  by  breaking  in  pieces  the  Combinations  which  had 
carried  it  through,  but  this  was  to  be  done  by  degrees  and  required 
time — that  next  winter  we  might  reduce  the  duty  on  sugar  and  thus 
lessen  the  attachment  of  Louisiana  for  the  Tariff — that  in  reducing 
the  duty  on  iron  &  wool  we  might  strike  N.  Jersey  &  N.  York  from 
the  Tariff  States,  and  thus  we  might  get  back  to  the  old  times.  He, 
however,  contented  that  a  reduction  on  sugar  would  be  lost  by  a  ma 
jority  of  30  votes,  and  that  the  various  interests  which  were  involved 
would  stick  together,  and  defeat  any  gradual  or  detached  attack. 
I  confess  upon  the  whole  his  tone  is  much  softened  down,  and  that 
I  have  almost  lost  all  fear  of  a  storm  from  the  South. 

"Our    friends    are,    of   course,    in   high   spirits   for   Gen.    Jackson's 

23  Van  Buren  MSS. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  133 

Message  on  the  Maysville  Bill.  It  does  not  exactly  come  up  to  our 
Virginia  Doctrines;  but  it  does  a  great  deal,  by  arresting  corrupting 
local  appropriations,  for  the  benefit  of  this  and  that  sectional  im 
provement,  which  were  wasting  the  public  funds  and  bribing  the 
members  of  Congress  out  of  their  Constitutional  principles-.  When 
I  heard  of  the  way  in  which  the  "Old  Hero"  was  beset,  by  members 
from  the  West  telling  him  if  he  rejected  the  Maysville  Bill,  he  and 
they  were  gone  there,  that  it  would  scatter  dissatisfaction  through 
most  of  their  districts — when  I  recollect  how  many  interests  he  was 
going  against  in  taking  his  ground,  I  am  more  &  more  impressed 
with  the  great  moral  courage  he  has  exhibited.  I  understand  Eaton 
&  Ingham  were  for  his  signing  the  bill,  Van  Buren  &  Branch  against 
it.  On  Sunday  morning,  after  sitting  up  all  night,  the  President 
was  very  much  nettled  in  their  forcing  the  Light  House  &  Harbor 
bill  upon  him,  filled  with  God  knows  how  many  little  appropriations 
for  roads  and  canals  &  &,  in  order  to  force  them  all  down  his  throat, 
or  by  his  rejecting  them,  rousing  up  so  many  various  interests  against 
him.  He  exclaimed  with  some  warmth,  'Let  them  come  on — all — I 
am  ready  for  them.'  That  bill  you  know  he  kept  by  him  on  Monday 
morning  &  refused  to  pass  upon.  Webster  was  very  anxious  to  con 
tinue  Congress  together  in  order  to  force  him  to  act,  and  thus  get 
material  against  him  for  the  Summer  Campaign.  The  obligations 
we  owe  "Old  Hickory"  for  stepping  in  at  this  crisis  &  saving  the  Con 
stitution  almost  at  its  last  gasp  are  great  indeed." 

Accordingly  Ritchie  turned  his  chief  attention  to  the  ef 
forts  being  made  to  open  the  West  India  ports  to  American 
trade.  "This  is  a  matter,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother 
Archibald,  "deeply  interesting  to  you  farmers,  at  this  time 
too,  would  have  much  effect  on  the  coming  harvest.  I  wish 
to  God  that  I  could  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing  the 
opening  of  the  W.  India  ports.  No  news  can  be  more  agree 
able  to  the  public.24 

Ritchie  was  never  more  mistaken  in  anything  than  in 
considering  Nullification  dead  in  1830.  The  supposed  rem 
edial  developments  had  only  heightened  the  opposition  of  the 
Carolinians  to  the  tariff.  During  the  summer  of  1830  they 
effected  working  organizations  and  made  determined  efforts 
to  extend  their  propaganda.,  To  this  end  the  Nullification 
doctrines  were  again  described  as  being  identical  with  the 
Virginia  doctrines,  and  Ritchie  was  attacked  as  a  nationalist 
who,  in  conjunction  with  Van  Buren,  had  parceled  out  the 

"Richmond  Enquirer,  June  8,  1830. 


134  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

empire.25  The  Salisbury  (N.  C.)  Carolinian  even  affirmed 
that  he  had  been  a  Nullifier  in  1822,26  when  his  cousin  Spen 
cer  Roane  had  sought  the  presidency  as  the  leader  of  the 
strict  construction  wing  of  the  Democratic-Republican  party. 

In  sympathy  with  their  war  upon  the  tariff,  but  desirous 
of  controlling  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Nullifiers,  Ritchie  was 
now  ready  to  admit  that  there  was  a  point  of  forbearance  be 
yond  which  a  free  people  could  not  go  in  the  neglect  of  their 
rights.  He  was  certain,  however,  that  the  South  Carolinians 
had  not  reached  that  point,  and  he  hesitated  to  draw  the  veil, 
under  the  existing  conditions,  on  what  would  happen,  were 
they  to  resort  to  force  to  prevent  the  collection  of  the  cus 
toms  duties.  To  his  mind  nullification  and  secession  seemed 
synonymous,  and  the  former  was  without  sanction  or  prece 
dent.  In  suport  of  these  contentions  he  quoted  at  length 
from  the  writings  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  and  called  at 
tention  to  the  edition  of  the  Resolutions  and  Debates  of  '98 
which  he  had  recently  published,  together  with  a  preface  by 
himself.27  He  furthermore  denied  the  existence  on  his  part 
of  any  understanding  with  Van  Buren  looking  to  the  promo 
tion  of  the  latter  to  the  presidency  to  the  exclusion  of  Cal- 
houn. 

Supported  as  he  was  by  mos%~e£-the  younger  -politicians 
of  the  state  and  by  the  General  Assembly,  the  effect  _of 
Ritchie's  stand  in  favor  of  the  administration  was  readily 
seen  in  a  tendency  of  the  opposition  forces  of  all  varieties 
whatsoever  to  unite  as  they  later  did  to  form  the  Whig  party. 
It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  followers  of  Jackson  aided  this 
tendency  by  their  efforts  to  prevent  the  re-election  of  Floyd 
to  the  governorship  and  by  their  haughty  exercise  of  power. 
They  thus  led  Floyd,  and  probably  Tazewell,  to  believe  that 
Jackson's  hostility  to  Calhoun  had  ante-dated  the  presiden- 

/' 

25 Richmond  Enquirer,  June  18,  1830;  Ibid.,  July  2,  13,  1830,  and 
August  3,  13,  1830. 

28  Ibid.,  August  3,  1830. 

27  Ibid.,  July  2,  1830;  Ibid.,  August  3,  31,  1830;  Ibid.,  October  1, 
1830. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  135 

tial  election  of  1828,  and  that  the  old  guard  had  been  treach 
erously  betrayed  into  voting  for  a  gang  of  spoilers.  His 
Indian  fighting  blood  was  thus  aroused,  and  he  now  sought 
sweet  revenge  to  be  "marked  by  the  effects  of  the  tomahawk." 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  Col.  John  Williams  of 
Knoxville,  Tennessee,  shows  plainly  that  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  join  forces  with  Clay  to  attain  such  results : 

"When  I  wrote  to  you  that  Mr.  Clay  and  myself  could  not  be 
reconciled  it  was  for  the  reason  that  there  was  not  in  my  opinion 
ground  enough  for  us  to  occupy  with  the  freedom  of  former  friend 
ship  and  not  that  I  had  the  slightest  enmity  to  him  or  remotest 
disposition  to  check  his  future  hopes  in  this  State  or  any  where 
else — but  perfectly  willing  my  friends  should  deal  with  him  as  their 
judgment  of  the  present  and  belief  of  the  future  shall  dictate." 28 

The  final  breach  between  Calhoun  and  Jackson,  which 
came  when  the  latter  discovered  the  attitude  of  the  former 
toward  his  conduct  in  Florida  in  1819,  and  the  odium  cast 
upon  the  administration  by  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Eaton  in  the 
official  family,  marked  the  parting  of  the  ways  between  the 
politicians  of  the  old  school  and  those  whom  the  natural 
course  of  events  had  made  leaders  in  Virginia  in  1829.  In 
their  short  sightedness  and  lack  of  confidence  in  the  power 
and  influence  of  the  new  democratic  revolution,  Floyd,  Taze- 
well,  Tyler,  Thomas  W.  Gilmer,  and  others  thought  that  the 
time  for  sweet  revenge  had  arrived,  that  the  new  order  was 
rapidly  disintegrating  for  want  of  experience  and  knowledge 
in  the  art  of  statecraft,  and  that  they  themselves  would  soon 
be  vindicated  by  restoration  to  a  commanding  place  in  the 
councils  of  the  republic.  Even  the  friends  of  the  administra 
tion  admitted  that  Calhoun  was  the  favorite  of  the  Assembly 
for  the  presidency.  Under  the  circumstances  it  seemed  pos 
sible  to  win  a  large  part  of  the  followers  of  Clay.  In  the 
midst  of  such  encouraging  conditions  the  old  guard  became 
militant.  With  Floyd  in  the  governor's  chair  and  with  Taze- 
well  and  Tyler  in  the  federal  Senate  they  anticipated  little 

28  Floyd  MSS.     December   27,   1830. 


136  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

i  difficulty  in  marshaling  the  state  behind  C'alhoun's  candidacy 
and  thus  checking  the  Nullification  movement  by  making  it 
unnecessary.  To  this  end  Ritchie  was  to  be  driven  from  his 
commanding  position  by  Gilmer,  who  was  to  establish  an 
ianti- Jackson  organ  in  Richmond,  and  that  "wretch  of  a 
printer,"  Amos  Kendall  and  those  "miserable  reptiles,"  Wil 
liam  B.  Lewis,  John  Eaton,  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  were 
denounced  as  political  dictators  who  had  usurped  the  govern 
ment  by  taking  advantage  of  Jackson's  credulity.  Patriot 
ism  had  thus  called  the  old  guard  to  the  rescue.  The  lurking 
desires  for  revenge  and  the  longings  of  ambition  made  it  im 
possible  to  ignore  the  call. 

The  following  extract  from  Floyd's  Diary,  commenced  at 
this  time  to  record  what  he  believed  to  be  the  downfall  of  our 
experiment  at  government,  tells  the  story  as  he  and  other 
Virginians  saw  it: 

"The  President  has  disappointed  friends  and  foes.  All  his  enemies 
said  of  him  before  the  election  has  been  realized.  The  future  his 
torian  will  regret  to  record  the  error  these  states  committed  in  raising 
a  victorious  general  of  their  army  to  the  first  office  in  the  S'tates 
of  a  civil  kind,  merely  because  he  had  become  popular  in  winning  a 
great  battle  and  closing  a  war  with  a  splendid  victory  over  the 
English  army  at  New  Orleans.  *  *  *  I  thought  Jackson  had 
mind,  which  by  practice  in  the  affairs  of  government,  would  be  qualified 
to  manage  the  machine  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  he  would  be  a 
statesman.  That  all  the  talents  of  the  Union  were  at  his  command, 
I  knew,  and  did  believe  in  common  with  all  others  of  his  friends, 
that  he  would  call  around  him  the  talented  and  distinguished  gen 
tlemen  throughout  the  confederacy  and  make  as  strong  and  splendid 
an  administration  as  Jefferson's.  How  sorrowfully  all  have  been 
disappointed.  We  believe  that  Landon  Cheves,  Littleton  Waller  Taze- 
well,  John  McLean  of  Ohio,  Thomas  Benton,  James  Hamilton,  Jr.,  of 
South  Carolina,  Hayne,  a  senator  of  that  State,  Hugh  L.  White  of 
Tennessee,  and  so  forth  and  so  forth  would  have  been  called;  and  that 
Mr.  Calhoun,  the  Vice-President,  would  have  been  consulted  and  al 
lowed  his  due  weight,  he  being  considered  a  man  of  the  first  talents  in 
the  Union,  the  one  on  which  we  place  the  highest  value.  Instead  of 
giving  us  such  men,  he  has  surrounded  himself  with  men  of  narrow 
minds,  some  of  them  hardly  gentlemen  and  none  of  them  have  much 
character  and  no  principles,  moral  or  political,  except  Ingham  and 
Branch.  Jackson  has  given  himself  up  to  the  management  of  these 
wretches  and  has  even  had  the  folly  to  engage  in  the  little  petty  quar 
rels  of  the  women."  2* 

29  Floyd  Diary. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  137 

To  the  honest  conservatives,  whatever  may  have  been 
their  political  ambitions,  their  disappointments,  and  their 
estimates  of  the  value  and  nature  of  their  own  public  ser- 
vices,  the  exigencies  of  the  times  were  indeed  alarming.  It 
is  not  strange  that  they  turned  to  their  hero,  Calhoun,  for 
deliverance  and  let  pass  no  opportunity  "to  keep  the  long 
end  of  the  lever  in  case  of  his  (Jackson's)  death."  To  this 
end  Duff  Green  suggested  that  the  General  Assembly  of  Vir 
ginia  place  Calhoun  in  nomination  with  Jackson  for  re-elec 
tion  to  the  vice-presidency.  Fearing  and  hoping  that  Jack 
son  might  die  before  the  end  of  his  first  term,  Floyd  doubted 
the  wisdom  of  the  course  suggested  by  Green,  because  Calhoun 
could  not  then  ask  for  the  presidency  with  the  same  grace 
that  he  could  if  his  name  had  not  been  used  in  connectior 
with  the  second  place.  Despite  occasional  tendencies  to 
ward  conciliation  and  concerted  action  with  the  followers  oi 
Clay,  the  dissatisfied  politicians  of  Virginia  were  willing  tc 
aid  in  the  re-election  of  Jackson  to  defeat  Clay  and  to  be  ii 
a  position  to  determine  the  succession  in  any  event.30 

Had  not  Clay  been  in  the  way  the  disaffected  elements 
of  the  Democratic  party  in  Virginia  would  have  urged  Cal- 
houn's  candidacy  in  1831.  With  him  and  Jackson  alone  in 
the  contest,  Floyd  was  certain  of  their  ability  to  carry  the 
state.  It  mattered  not  that  Duff  Green,  editor  of  the  United 
States  Telegraph,  was  being  driven  from  his  strategic  posi 
tion  in  conection  with  the  press  of  the  country  to  make  a 
place  for  Blair  and  the  Globe,  and  that  the  press  of  Virginia, 
under  the  leadership  of  Ritchie,  was  being  brought  into 
greater  accord  with  the  administration.  Floyd's  hope  lay  in 
getting  Clay  to  see  that  the  people  would  not  satirize  them 
selves  by  turning  Jackson  out  and  putting  him  in,  and  that 
he  could  attain  the  presidency  only  after  Jackson's  successor 
had  served  one  or  two  terms.  But  unlike  Judge  Brooke, 
Clay's  confidential  adviser  in  eastern  Virginia,  the  leaders 
of  the  western  and  the  northern  parts  of  the  state,  who  favored 

so  Floyd  MSS.     Floyd  to  Calhoun,  April  16,   1831. 


1381  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

federal  appropriations  to  works  of  internal  improvement 
and  were  not  hostile  to  the  protective  tariff,  were  not  willing 
that  the  author  of  the  American  System  "should  decline  for 
a  time"  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  presidency.31  Clay  doubt 
less  shared  their  opinion,  and,  though  the  inter-party  feeling 
against  Jackson  raged,  the  time  seemed  inopportune  for  Cal- 
houn. 

Jackson's  decision  to  have  a  political  house  cleaning,  to 
be  accomplished  by  forcing  the  'resignation  of  his  cabinet 
and  by  its  complete  reorganization,  brought  a  revival,  of  hopes 
for  the  anti-Jackson  program.  True,  Floyd  saw  in  the  pro 
posed  house  cleaning  only  "another  of  those  manifestations 
of  weak  sagacity"  by  which  Van  Buren  thought  to  save  him 
self  and  Jackson  and  to  suspend  public  judgment  upon  their 
conduct.32  There  was,  however,  a  noticeable,  falling  off  in 
Jackson's  strength  in  Virginia  about  this  time,  and  the  ad 
visability  of  launching  Calhoun's  candidacy  was  seriously 
considered  by  his  friends.  Despite  the  happiness  over  what 
was  believed  to  mark  a  decline  in  Ritchie's  power  and  influ 
ence,  the  chief  difficulty  lay  now  not  with  Clay  but  with 
Ritchie.  To  Floyd  he  had  become  a  veritable  thorn  in  the 
flesh.  On  June  24,  1831,  he  wrote  to  J..  S.  Barbour  as 
follows : 

"I  am  informed  that  Ritchie  still  adheres  to  Jackson,  and  to 
Van  Buren;  some  think  for  the  sake  of  the  latter  and  'for  other 
purposes,'  though  he  has  but  few,  very  few  in  his  train.  The  Trabea 
is  falling  from  his  shoulders;  every  step  he  takes  is  digging  his  own 
pit;  and  every  apology  he  attempts  for  the  violation  of  the  Consti 
tution  is  lessening  his  influence,  and  for  the  outrages  upon  morals 
and  private  rights  by  the  favorites  of  power,  is  preparing  for  him 
self  future  regrets.  To  talk  about  the  benefits  this  administration 
has  brought  or  will  bring  to  State  Rights,  is  an  insult  to  the  plain 
understanding  of  all  and  a  satire  upon  the  whole  of  Ritchie's  former 
political  opinions."  33 

There  are  few  better  examples  anywhere  of  the  inability 
of  politicians  to  bring  about  things  of  consequence  or  to  know 
what  is  of  consequence  and  possible  than  that  shown  in  1831 

81  Floyd  MSS.     Floyd  to  Calhoun,  April   16,  1831. 
*2  Floyd's  Diary,  April  25,  1831. 
33  Floyd  MS&. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  139 

by  Calhoun's  friends  in  Virginia.  With  a  skill  and  adroit 
ness  equalled  only  by  that  of  the  Albany  Regency,  _W.__S. 
Archer,  Geo.  C.  Dromgoole,  and  the  Junto  recently  recruited 
by  the  addition  of  Ritchie's  brother-in-law,  Judge  Richard 
E.  Parker,  Peter  V.  Daniel,  and  others  of  equal  skill  as  poli 
ticians,  understood  both  the  temper  and  the  desires  of  the 
voters  and  the  limitations  of  their  opponents  both  in  and  out 
of  the  Republican  party.  By  smoothing  over  the  attacks  of 
the  Globe  upon  "our  Senators,"  Tazewell  and  Tyler,  by  offer 
ing  the  voters  Jackson  and  reform  in  preference  to  Clay  and 
the  tariff  or  to  Calhoun  and  Nullification,  by  a  loyal  devo 
tion  to  the  Union,  and  by  throwing  cold  water  upon  the 
rumors  which  had  brought  Mrs.  Eaton  into  the  limelight  and 
disrupted  social  and  political  circles  in  Washington,  Ritchie 
made  it  almost  impossible  for  such  politicians  as  Floyd,  Taze 
well,  and  Tyler  to  bolt  Jackson,  while  he  at  the  same  time 
prevented  Calhoun  from  winning  a  popular  following. 
Plainly  nothing  but  victory  was  to  crown  such  efforts  and 
such  sagacity.  On  April  4,  1831,  Andrew  Stevenson  wrote 
Van  Buren  to  have  no  alarm  about  the  rumors  of  "mighty 
changes  in  the  Old  Dominion."  He  did  not  doubt  that  there 
would  be  "war  to  the  knife"  accompanied  by  the  loss  of  some 
of  his  former  friends,  but  he  was  determined  to  beat  no  re 
treat.34 

Even  the  disruption  of  the  cabinet  did  not  alarm  Ritchie 
and  his  associates.  Indeed,  they  saw  in  it  a  political  asset. 
They  expected  the  resignation  of  the  "little  Magician'  and  the 
"magnanimous  utterances"  which  accompanied  it  to  put  an 
end  to  "the  discords  and  ambitions  which  have  appeared  in 
our  party,"  and  Ritchie  expressed  it  as  his  opinion  that  Van 
Buren  would  not  again  accept  office  at  the  hands  of  the  Presi 
dent.35  A  second  thought,  prompted  doubtless  by  informa 
tion  from  Washington  and  sustained  by  a  desire  for  party 
unity,  produced  a  change  of  mind,  however,  and  he  with  the 

84  Van  Buren  MSS. 

**Van  Buren  MS8.  Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  April  20,  1831.  See 
also  R.  E.  Parker  to  Van  Buren,  April  28,  1831. 


140  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

approval  of  the  Junto,  concluded  that  it  would  be  better  for 
Van  Buren  to  go  to  the  Court  of  St.  James  rather  than  re 
main  in  this  country  and  scramble  with  Calhoun  for  the  vice- 
presidency.  While  the  New  York  Herald  was  certain  that 
Van  Buren  would  not  go  to  London,  but  would  remain  in  this 
country  and  run  for  the  vice-presidency,  Ritchie  was  equally 
certain  that  he  would  go,  and  that  he  was  not  and  would  not 
become  a  candidate.  Both  publicly  and  privately,  even  to 
Van  Buren  himself,  he  opposed  all  attempts  to  run  him 
against  Calhoun.36  The  degree  to  which  these  declarations 
of  a  semi-friendship  were  reassuring  to  the  friends  of  Cal 
houn  would  be  difficult  to  determine. 

Ritchie  and  the  Junto  had  meanwhile  developed  a  pro 
found  respect  for  Jackson  as  a  man  of  integrity,  character, 
culture,  and  principles.  They  thought  it  ridiculous  and 
even  unpatriotic  for  his  own  countrymen  to  denounce  and 
villify,  as  a  barbarian,  a  tyrant,  a  corrupter  of  the  public 
morals,  and  a  tool  of  magicians  and  juntoes,  a  man  who  would 
grace  the  society  of  any  European  court.  It  was,  said  they, 
the  same  type  of  justice  as  that  given  Jefferson  in  his  life 
time.  The  Winchester  Republican.,  controlled  by  Judge 
Parker,  was  certain  that  Jackson  could  carry  Virginia  against 
the  combined  forces  of  Clay  and  Calhoun.37  It  is  interesting 
to  note  incidentally  that  such  a  combination  was  desired  by 
some  at  this  time  as  a  means  of  depriving  Ritchie  of  his 
power.  If  friends  of  Calhoun  dared  to  assemble  to  make 
formal  protest  against  the  re-election  of  Jackson,  their  gath 
erings  were  written  up  as  "Clay  meetings/'  and  those  who 
took  part  were  chided  with  the  prediction  that  they  would 
ultimately  vote  for  the  father  of  the  American  System  for 
President.38 

Tlie  friends  of  Calhoun  knew  as  well  as  Ritchie  himself 
that  Jackson's  strength  in  Virginia  lay  in  the  western  and 

86  Van  Buren  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  April  30,  1831;   Rich 
mond  Enquirer,  May   17,  24,   1831. 
Tbid.,  July  22,  1831. 
88  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  9,   1831. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  141 


particularly  injthe  Valley  counties,  each  of  which  was 
particular  time  seething  with  discontent  over  the  subject_of 
internal  improvements.  While  Baltimore  had  carried  off  the 
fruits  of  Hesperides,  Ritchie  had  tried  in  vain  to  arouse  the 
"sluggards  and  talkers'7  of  his  own  state  to  the  necessity  of 
availing  themselves,  by  the  use  of  turnpikes,  canals,  and  rail 
roads,  of  the  benefits  which  nature  had  lavished  upon  them. 
Since  the  incorporation  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
Company  and  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  Company  he 
had  repeatedly  held  out  to  them  the  advantages  of  connect 
ing  the  East  and  the  West  by  way  of  the  James  and  the 
Kanawha  rivers.  From  both  the  political  and  the  economic 
view  it  is  not  surprising  therefore  that  he  now  opposed  the 
efforts  of  the  South  Carolinians  to  make  Charleston  the  out 
let  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia  by  connecting  the  two  by  rail.39 

Meanwhile  Nullification  had  gained  additional  momen 
tum.  Although  it  had  practically  ruined  his  chances  for  the 
presidency  in  1832,  had  Jackson  not  been  in  the  running, 
Calhoun  no  longer  concealed  his  paternal  connection  with 
that  movement,  and  it  was  generally  known  that  he  had  in 
spired  some  and  written  others  of  the  elaborate  arguments 
and  expositions  made  in  its  defence  in  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1831.  The  talented  and  patriotic  source  of  their 
origin  commanded  for  the  Nullification  doctrines,  therefore, 
a  more  respectful  hearing  then  had  hitherto  been  accorded 
them,  and  necessitated  a  more  exact  and  thorough  exposition 
of  Ritchie's  views  regarding  them. 

He  readily  admitted  Calhoun's  courage  and  patriotism  in  ; 
opposing  the  tariff,  but  he  could  not  subscribe  to  his  method, 
Nullification  of  a  federal  law.  That  was  to  place  a  state  in 
the  impossible  position  of  being  both  in  and  out  of  the  Union 
at  the  same  time.  He  admitted  the  right  of  a  state  to  inter 
pose  by  peaceful  and  constitutional  means  to  arrest  a  delib 
erate,  palpable,  and  dangerous  encroachment  of  the  federal 
government  upon  the  rights  of  the  states,  such  an  interposi- 

39  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  17,  1831. 


142  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

s 

tion  as  Virginia  had  made  in  179S1,  but  he  insisted  that  no 
state  could  veto  a  federal  law  until  its  constitutionality  had 
been  passed  upon  by  the  several  states.  Any  other  course 
might  prove  fatal  to  the  Union,  because  three-fourths  of  the 
states  might  not  act  in  accord  with  the  nullifying  state.  He 
'evidently  considered  that  Calhoun,  in  his  efforts  to  preserve 
the  Union  and  to  control  the  sentiment  of  his  state,  had  either 
mistaken  or  ignored  the  logical  conclusion  of  the  Virginia 
doctrines  which  conceded  the  right  of  a  state  to  secede  or  to 
revolt  after  due  notice  to  her  sister  states  and  after  all  means 
to  secure  a  redress  of  intolerable  grievances  had  failed,  but 
did  not  even  imply  that  a  single  state  or  any  number  less 
than  three-fourths  of  all  had  a  right  to  nullify  a  law.40  Al 
though  Ritchie  later  admitted  that  Jefferson  was  the  father  of 
Nullification,  in  that  he  had  used  that  term  in  the  Kentucky 
Resolutions,  he  would  not  admit  that  Jefferson's  doctrine  of 
Nullification  was  applicable  to  the  tariff,  because  it  was  not 
plain  that  the  protective  tariff  acts  were  abuses  of  delegated 
or  an  assumption  of  undelegated  powers.  Nor  did  he  admit 
that  Jefferson's  ideas  of  Nullification  were  identical  with  the 
system  worked  out  by  Calhoun.41 

However  formidable  Calhoun's  doctrines  might  appear, 
Ritchie  did  not  now  consider  the  dangers  from  the  tariff  men 
acing.  He  saw  clearly  the  near  approach  of  the  time  when 
the  public  debt  would  be  extinguished  and  when  the  public 
lands  would  be  a  source  of  sufficient  income.  Such  condi 
tions  he  hoped  would  make  a  tariff  unnecessary  and  impossi 
ble.  Accordingly  he  opposed  the  interposition  of  the  indi 
vidual  states,  except  by  resolutions  on  federal  relations,  and 
requested  the  co-operation  of  all  aggrieved  parties  in  an  anti- 
tariff  convention  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  on  September 
30,  183 1.42  This  he  now  considered  a  peaceful,  constitu 
tional,  and  adequate  means  for  stating  their  grievances  and 
for  obtaining  redress.  In  the  same  editorials  which  de- 

40  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  16,  1831;  Ibid.,  August  19,  1831. 

"Ibid.,  March  13,  1832. 

42  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  27,  1831. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  143 

* 

nounced  Nullification  as  opposed  to  the  Virginia  doctrines, 
he  praised  the  Union  party  in  South  Carolina  and  urged  the 
counties  in  Virginia  to  select  delegates  to  the  proposed  anti- 
tariff  convention.  When  the  convention  met  Virginia  had 
fifty-one  delegates,  thanks  to  his  vigilance,  a  number  greater 
than  that  from  any  other  state.  Among  the  number  were 
some  of  Ritchie's  most  intimate  friends:  P.  P. 


John  Brockenbrough,  Geo.  O.  Dromgoole,  Randolph  Harri 
son,  W.  H.  Roane,  and  others.43  Ritchie  was  confident  that 
the  effects  of  their  deliberatons  would  be  remedial,  but  sug 
gested  that,  in  case  they  were  not,  the  southern  states  call 
a  convention  to  revise  the  constitution.  In  case  this  resort 
failed  to  bring  redress  he  would  then  have  sanctioned  a  con 
vention  of  the  southern  states  to  devise  the  best  means  of  ap 
pealing  to  the  sister  states.  Secession  or  revolution  were  to 
be  used  only  as  the  last  resort  —  Nullification  never.  It  is 
thus  plain  that  he  desired  anything  but  Calhoun's  plan.44 

Wiith  such  a  conciliatory  and  compromising  attitude, 
Ritchie,  jmgfat_haye.  endorsed  Clay's  proposal  of  1832  for 
modifying  the  tariff  by  a  downward  revision.  Other  Vir 
ginians  accepted  it  as  better  than  the  Tariff  of  Abominations, 
but  his  antipathy  to  Clay's  political  ambitions  hM  now  be 
come  chronic.  In  every  move  of  that  gentleman  he  saw  an  at 
tempt  to  reach  the  presidency.  Clay  had  become  to  him  a 
modern  Themistocles  who  could  not  sleep  for  thinking  of  the 
triumphs  of  Miltiades.  Accordingly  he  pronounced  his  pro-  ' 
posal  for  modifying  the  tariff  only  a  "new  bill  of  abomina 
tions"  and  gave  warning  that  the  South  would  not  end  the 
matter  there.  She  demanded  remedial  legislation  not  as  a; 
favor  but  as  a  right.45  Then,  too,  he  and  Blair  of  the  Globe 
stood  in  constant  fear  lest  a  compromise  of  the  differences  on 
the  tariff  would  lead  to  a  coalition  between  .Clay  and  Calhoun 

43  Richmond  Enquirer,  October   11,   1831. 
"Ibid.,  November   1,   1831. 
45  Ibid.,  January  24,  1832. 


144  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

to  defeat  Jackson.  The  tariff  issue  had  thus  become  a  politi 
cal  asset.46 

Meanwhile  Duff  Green,  out  of  the  bounty  of  his  sordid 
though  fertile  brain,  sought  to  expose  Ritchie.  First  he  af 
firmed  on  the  authority  of  "an  intelligent  gentleman  from 
western  Virginia/7  that  Ritchie  and  John  Randolph  had  gone 
into  the  service  of  Van  Buren,  and  that  they  were  organizing 
the  state  so  as  to  give  him  its  vote  for  the  vice-presidency, 
regardless  of  the  wishes  of  Floyd,  the  governor,  and  Tyler 
and  Tazewell,  the  Senators  in  Congress.  Then  came  the  re 
port  that  W.  O.  Rives  was  to  supplant  Floyd  for  governor, 
that  Peter  V.  Daniel  was  to  succeed  Tazewell,  that  Ritchie 
was  to  succeed  Van  Buren  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and 
that  the  tariff,  as  an  issue,  was  to  be  surrendered.47  Finally 
it  was  reported  and  freely  reiterated  by  the  New  York  Jour 
nal  and  the  National  Intelligencer  that  a  move  was  on  in 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  to  make  Van  Buren 
President  by  securing  his  election  with  Jackson,  who  had 
promised  to  resign  to  permit  his  promotion.48 

Ritchie  at  once  assigned  Green  to  a  place  in  the  Ananias 
Club.  He  also  challenged  him  to  produce  any  proof  that  he 
had  ever  sought  office  from  Jackson  for  himself  or  for  others. 
His  very  nature  revolted  against  the  spoilsmen  and  their 
methods,  and  he  now  laid  bare  the  "vigilant  inquisitor  to 
the  teeth."  "We  defy  both  him  and  his  spies,'7  said  he,  "who 
go  prowling  into  the  public  offices,  and  hold  conversation  with 
the  heads  of  departments,  which  are  afterwards  garbled,  and 
retailed  to  the  public  by  the  Editor  of  the  Telegraph.  We 
defy  all  such  men.  We  ask  no  favor  of  any  of  them — and 
may  as  truly  add  none  of  M'r.  Van  Buren  himself — nor  of 
Gen.  Jackson.7749  Furthermore,  Ritchie  declared  that  he 
then  had  in  his  possession  a  letter  from  Van  Buren,  in  which 

46  Fan  Buren  'M88.     F.  P.  Blair  to  Van  Buren,  January  28,  1832; 
Ibid.,  R.  E.  Parker  to  Van  Buren,  February  3,  1832. 

47  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  22,  28,  1831. 
*sIUd.,  December  30,   1831. 

*UMd.,  December  28,  1831. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  145 

he  had  declined  to  run  for  the  vice-presidency,  that  there  was 
not  a  man  in  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  who  pressed 
his  claims,  and  that  he  had  never  heard  a  single  member  ex 
press  the  slightest  desire  to  vote  for  him.50 

The  refusal  of  the  Senate  to  confirm  Van  Buren's  ap 
pointment,  after  he  had  actually  repaired  to  the  Court  of  St. 
James,  acted  as  a  bomb  in  the  various  political  camps 
throughout  the  Union.  Immediately  plans  and  policies  so 
shaped  themselves  in  Virginia  as  to  give  an  appearance  of 
truth  to  Duff  Green's  falsehoods  and  conjectures,  but  the  cor 
respondence  of  those  concerned  more  than  refute  his  charges. 
Although  he  considered  Van  Buren  wholly  unfit  for  the  presi 
dency,51  John  Randolph,  who  now  desired  to  be  minister  to 
England  himself,  felt  that  the  part  which  "the  thrice  double 
ass,"  Calhoun,  had  played  in  bringing  about  his  recall  had 
made  it  "as  easy  for  Benedict  Arnold  to  get  the  vote  of  Vir 
ginia  as  for  him"  (Calhoun).52  To  Ritchie  it  was  a  mem 
orable  event  in  our  annals,53  and  he  urged  Van  Buren's  re- 
appointment  at  once.  The  Winchester  Republican  nomi 
nated  him  for  the  vice-presidency,  and  Richard  E.  Parker 
boldly  predicted  that  he  would  succeed  Jackson.54  After  a 
conference  with  Jackson,  Andrew  Stevenson  informed  Ritchie 
that  he  must  take  the  field  "in  the  spirit  of  victory"  and  that 
his  "former  scruples  as  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  being  nominated 
for  the  vice-presidency  must  give  away."55  Furthermore  he 
advised  that  delegates,  to  the  proposed  Baltimore  Convention 
be  selected  at  once  and  that  they  be  instructed  to  vote  for  Van 
Buren.  In  the  following  lines  Eloyd  committed  to  the  pages 
of  his  diary  what  the  obstinacy  of  the  old  guard  had  wrought 
in  Virginia :  "Ritchie,  that  profligate  son  of  a  Scotch  Tory, 
and  the  Richmond  Junto  are  at  work  trying  to  procure  a 

50  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  30,  1831;  Ibid.,  January  3,  1832. 

51  Jackson  MSS.     Randolph  to  Jackson,  March   18,    1832. 
"Ibid.,  March  26,  1832. 

53  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  31,   1832. 

54  Van  Buren  MSS.     Stevenson  to  Ritchie,  February  4,  1832. 

55  Ibid.,  Van  Buren  MSS.  Stevenson  to  Ritchie,  February  4,  1832. 


146  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

party  to  nominate  in  this  state  Van  Buren  for  the  vice-presi 
dency/  '56  Clearer  vision  would  have  enabled  him  to  see  that 
they  already  had  a  party  both  able  to  nominate  and  elect 
Van  Buren. 

^Tn  his  opposition  to  the  plans  to  force  Van  Buren's  pro 
posed  candidacy,  Ritchie  was  true  to  his  conservative  ten 
dencies  and  displayed  superior  political  sagacity.  Despite 
the  vigilance  of  dame  rumor  the  idea  was  a  new  one,  and 
Virginians  then  as  now  moved  slowly.  Time  was  needed  to 
pave  the  way  in  the  popular  mind  for  an  explanation  of  Van 
Buren's  former  attitude  toward  the  tariff,  his  relation  with 
the  peace  party  of  1814,  and  his  attitude  toward  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise.  Then,  too,  Virginia  had  a  natural  feel 
ing  of  distrust  for  political  spoilsmen  and  magicians,  of 
whom  he  was  the  reputed  prince^7  Furthermore,  he  feared 
the  consequences  of  such  a  course  upon  the  national  cam- 
paign.\  In  hope  of  carrying  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
and  of  throwing  the  election  of  the  vice-president  into  the 
Senate,  where  Van  Buren  had  about  as  much  chance  of  elec 
tion  as  he  had  to  be  minister  to  England,  the  friends  of  Cal- 
houn  had  launched  P.  P.  Barbour's  candidacy  for  the  second 
place.  Already  there  was  talk  of  withdrawing  Sergeant, 
Clay's  running  mate,  from  the  race  in  the  border  states  for 
any  man  who  could  carry  them  against  Van  Buren.  Under 
the  circumstances  Ritchie  thought  it  wise  to  sound  the  public 
before  taking  an  irretrievable  step. 

Notwitstanding  Ritchie's  attitude,  leading  members  of 
the  Junto  made  a  determined  effort  to  commit  Virginia  to 
Van  Buren's  candidacy.  The  first  trial  of  strength  came  in 
the  Democratic  State  Convention  which  met  in  February, 
1832.  The  contest  was  hotly  waged,  and  the  friends  of  Van 
Buren,  led  by  W.  H.  Roane,  now  a  member  of  the  Junto, 
forced  a  sine  die  adjournment,  when  it  was  found  that  they 
could  not  win  and  after  Jackson  had  been  re-endorsed.58 

58  Van  Buren  MS 8.,  February  5,  1832. 

— ~   "Richmond  Enquirer,  February  4,  1832;  Ibid.,  March  17,  20,  1832. 
68  Richmond   Enquirer,    March    17,    20,    1832. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  147 

After  an  interval  of  two  weeks  the  matter  was  again  taken 
up  in  a  caucus  of  the  Democratic  members  of  the  Assembly,, 
which,  after  a  heated  discussion,  decided  to  refer  the  whole 
matter,  together  with  the  selection  of  delegates  to  the  Balti 
more  Convention,  to  the  people.59  As  a  result,  the  spring 
election  of  1832  was  largely  a  contest  between  rival  candi 
dates  for  the  vice-presidency. 

The  decision  to  refer  the  contest  to  the  people  was  a  tact 
ful  move,  and  was  largely  the  work  of  Ritchie.  He  rarely 
made  a  move  of  any  kind  without  previously  making  a  dili 
gent  effort  to  ascertain  the  sentiment  of  Virginia.  Then  he 
generally  moved  in  the  direction  it  indicated.  As  a  result  of 
the  plebiscite  Barbour  received  the  support  of  Virginia,  vot 
ing  under  the  unit  rule,  in  the  Baltimore  Convention,60  but 
the  result  of  the  contest  for  that  support  had  made  it  evi 
dent  that  Van  Buren  was  almost  equally  strong,  and  that  his 
candidacy  would,  in  due  time  and  as  the  result  of  his 'being 
the  regular  nominee,  develop  a  strength  greater  than  that  of 
any  combination  which  could  be  made  against  him.  Accord 
ingly  Ritchie  dismissed  his  former  scruples  and  reluctantly 
espoused  the  candidacy  of  the  ISfew  Yorker.  Henceforth  the 
battle  cry  was  Jackson  and  Van.Burenr  the  choice  of  the  peo 
ple,  against  the  triumvirate,  Clay,  Calhoun,  and  Webster.61 

Many  of  Calhoun's  friends  in  Virginia  did  not  concur  in 
the  nomination  of  Van  Buren  and  continued  to  support  Bar 
bour.  Those  of  them  who  attended  the  Baltimore  Convention 
had  refused  to  make  its  action  unanimous.62  Accordingly  a 
Jackson-Barbour  ticket  was  placed  in  the  field,  and  there  was 
talk  during  the  summer  of  a  coalition  with  the  opposition  to 
support  it.  But  the  disaffected  reckoned  without  their  host. 
Although  a  strict  constructionist  of  the  most  approved  type, 
Barbour  now  had  an  eye  on  the  supreme  bench,  and  was  not 
willing  to  antagonize  the  only  man  who  could  gratify  his 

59  Richmond  Enquirer,   March  20,   23,   1832. 

eo  Ibid.,  May  25,  1832.    The  vote  was:    Van  Buren  39,  Barbour  45. 

nlbid.,  May  29,  1832. 

62  Ibid.,  June  5,  1832. 


148  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

ambitions.  Those  who  desired  to  use  him  as  a  tool  to  accom 
plish  the  defeat  of  Van  Buren  were  disgusted  at  his  non-com 
mittal  attitude  regarding  the  vice-presidency  and  his  rever 
ence  for  party  unity.  But  the  cause  of  their  chagrin  was 
the  capital  which  Ritchie  and  his  associates  used  to  effect 
Barbour's  complete  withdrawal  from  the  race.63 

Ritchie's  reluctance  in  supporting  Van  Buren  for  the 
vice-presidency,  even  after  he  had  secured  the  nomination 
I  and  after  his  candidacy  had  become  popular  in  Virginia, 
was  due  to  a  careful  consideration  of  the  best  interests  of  the 
party  locally,  and  not  to  any  feeling  of  hostility  or  distrust. 
His  record  on  the  tariff  had  not  been  satisfactory,  and  it  was 
feared  that  unnecessary  enthusiasm  would  fan  the  opposition 
of  the  Nullifiers  and  anti-tariff  men.  Since  1828,  when 
Ritchie  had  suggested  that  greater  honors  were  in  store  for 
him  than  the  governorship  of  New  York,  and  when  Van 
•*"  Buren  had  desired  to  make  Ritchie  the  national  spokesman 
of  the  Jacksonian  party,  they  had  been  friends  and  confi 
dants/  Besides,  there  is  every  evidence  that  the  Junto  now 
had  greater  confidence  in  Van  Buren  than  in  Jackson,  and 
that  they  desired  the  presence  of  the  former  at  court  as  a 
sort  of  balance  wheel.  New  York's  iniative  in  undertaking 
and  carrying  to  a  successful  completion  her  works  of  internal 
improvement  and  the  flush  condition  of  the  federal  treasury 
had  simplified  the  national  issues  upon  which  he  had  been 
found  wanting,  and  it  was  now  thought  that  he  was  the  only 
man  who  could  steer  the  ship  of  state  safely  through  the  storm 
which  continued  to  blacken  the  southern  skies.  In  a  letter 
written  so  that  it  would  reach  him  immediately  upon  his 
arrival  in  this  country  from  England,  Ritchie  requested  that 
he  ahasten  without  delay  to  the  city  of  Washington  to  do  all 
you  can  to  assist  in  settling  the  tariff  on  just  principles." 
"Take  your  stand/'  said  he,  "boldly  like  a  patriot.  Come  out 
fearless  of  all  consequences — and  trusting  to  your  country 


63  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  1,  12,  1832;  Ibid.,  July  3,  1832;  Ibid., 
October  20,  1832;  Floyd's  Diary,  October  26,  1832. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  149 

and  your  God."  64  One  week  later  he  begged  him  to  open  his 
mind  to  the  President  and  to  beseech  him  not  to  sign  the  bill 
then  pending  for  appropriations  to  certain  works  of  internal 
improvement.  About  the  same  time  Daniel  expressed  a  belief 
in  Van  Buren's  influence  for  good  at  Washington.  John 
Randolph's  invitation  for  him  to  partake  of  Virginia's  hos 
pitality  followed,  as  did  Parker's  assurance  that  the  vote  of 
that  state  would  be  for  him  for  the  vice-presidency.65 

Jackson's  veto  of  the  Bank  Bill  gave  a  new  and  more 
importanf  issue"  to  the  campaign  and  permitted  Van  Buren  to 
retire  from  the  limelight.     Henceforth  Clay  and  his  policies 
became  the  chief  objects  of  attack,  permitting  Ritchie  to  re 
vive  the  story  of  the  corrupt  bargain  of  1825,  to  ridicule 
"oSTick"  Biddle,  and  to  ferret  out  and  publish  all  evidences 
of  and  tendencies  toward  a  coalition  between  Clay,  Calhoun, 
and  Webster  to  defeat  the  choice  of  the  people.     In  some  , 
quarters  it  was  feared,  that  the  predilection,  of- the  inhabi 
tants  of  the  western  counties  for  the  American  System  and  , 
their  dissatisfaction  with  the  results  of  the  Constitutional  / 
Convention  of  1829-'30  would  combine  with  the  disaffected  I 
elements  in  the  east  to  give  Clay  the  electoral  vote  of  the  j 
state,  but  Van  Buren's  popularity  with  the  German  elements ; 
of  the  Valley,  Jackson's  complete  impersonation  of  the  Westjj 
of  whichi  western  Virginia  was  really  a  part,  and  Ritchie's 
previous  services  in  the  cause  of  reform  more  than  offset 
these  tendencies.     The  success  of  Jackson  was  accordingly 
hailed  by  Ritchie  as  aTfriuniph  for  the  people,  a  rebuke  for 
the  federal  Senate  in  rejecting  Van  Buren's  appointment  to 
be  minister  to  England,  and  the  death  knell  of  both  Clay  and 
Calhoun. 

Meanwhile  the  Tariff  Bill  of  1832  had  become  a  law,  and 
the  ^ullifiers,  failing  to  obtain  redress  by  it,  were  pressing 
South  Carolina  to  radical  measures.  While  the  bill  was  pend 
ing  Ritchie  had  predicted  that  McDume,  Calhoun,  Hayne, 

64  Van  Buren  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  June  25,  1832. 
From  June  to  September,  1832. 


150  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

and  Hamilton  would  be  naughty,  if  Congress  failed  to  grant 
remedial  legislation.  "The  Union  party/'  said  he,  "are  too 
weak  to  resist  them.  There  is  no  knowing  where  the  dissatis 
faction  may  stop.  The  whole  South  is  indignant  at  the  oppo 
sition  and  obduracy  of  the  Tariffi'tes.  Virginia  is  now  cool, 
but  very  excitable  and  determined  not  to  send  a  man  or  mus 
ket  to  put  down  S.  Carolina.  Events  may  hurry  us  further. 
I  fear,  Sir,  many  of  our  most  sagacious  patriots  are  now  be 
ginning  to  tremble  for  the  Union.  ,Jts  is  on  all  hands  ad 
mitted  to  be  the  most  alarming  stafe  of  thirfgs  which  has  ex 
isted  since  the  Revolution."66 

Now  that  these  prophetic  utterances  were  about  to  be 
come  true,  Ritchie's  chief  concern  was  to  keep  Jackson  "cool" 
and  "firm."  His  panacea  for  all  crises  of  state  was  "concilia 
tion  and  compromise,"  to  which  haven  he  now  fled.  While 
the  Nullifiers  were  preparing  to  resist  the  collection  of  the 
customs  duties  by  making  them  illegal  within  the  limits  of 
South  Carolina,  and  while  Jackson  was  preparing  to  collect 
them  by  the  use  of  federal  troops,  Ritchie  suggested  that  the 
annual  message  to  Congress  recommend  a  gradual  reduction 
in  all  duties  until  they  should  be  only  twenty  per  cent,  of 
what  they  then  were.  This  was  the  principle  of  the  compro 
mise  later  agreed  upon,  but  it  now  went  unheeded.  Even 
after  the  adoption  of  the  famous  nullification  ordinance  by 
South  Carolina,  Ritchie  thought  Jackson  should  take  the 
initiative  in  moving  for  compromise.  It  was  a  glorious  op 
portunity  to  make  a  masterly  use  of  his  great  popular  victory 
at  the  polls.  He  could  now  kill  Calhoun  by  magnanimity, 
whereas  he  had  led  the  people  in  their  execution  of  t^lay. 
The  moderate  tone  of  the  annual  message  pleased  Ritchie 
greatly  and  led  him  to  the  false  conclusion  that  the  "Old 
Hero"  was  not  going  to  hang  Calhoun,  or  what  was  more  im 
portant  to  Ritchie,  disrupt  the  Democratic  party  by  precipi 
tate  action.  The  Enquirer  praised  its  moderation  and  again 

86  Van  Buren  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  June  25,  1832. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  151 

congratulated  the  people  upon  their  wise  choice  in  electing 
Jackson  to  the  presidency.67 

Every  precaution  to  keep  the  Old  General  cool  was  for 
naught.  It  mattered  not  that  he  had  been  lenient  in  deal 
ing  with  Georgia  in  her  conflicts  with  the  Union  about  the 
Indians.  Now  the  Union  had  been  assailed  by  an  enemy, 
Calhoun,  and  as  Jackson  was  at  its  head,  the  assault  was 
taken  as  personal.  He  had  no  intention  of  passing  it  by  un 
noticed.  While  Ritchie  was  praising  his  moderation  in  deal 
ing  with  the  Nullifiers,  his  Secretary  of  State,  Livingston, 
was  at  work  upon  the  famous  Proclamation  to  the  people  of 
South  Carolina,  which  made  its  appearance  on  December  the 
10th,  six  days  after  the  regular  message.  Its  masterly  and 
defiant  refutation  of  the  Nullification  arguments  was  popu 
larly  received,  and  thus  in  little  more  than  a  month  after  he 
had  vanquished  Clay,  Jackson  again  found  himself  a  national 
hero  in  the  battle  with  Calhoun. 

The  Proclamation,  as  it  came  to  be  called,  swept  aside 
the  bad  logic  and  the  impracticable  theories  of  the  ordinance 
of  nullification  and  proclaimed  the  doctrines  of  the  suprem 
acy  of  the  Union,  which  at  that  particular  time  meant  the 
supremacy  of  Jackson.  The  following  is  possibly  the  most 
important  passage  in  it:  "I  consider  the  power  to  annul  a 
law  of  the  United  States,  incompatible  with  the  existence  of 
the  Union,  contradicted  expressly  by  the  letter  of  the  consti 
tution,  unauthorized  by  its  spirit,  inconsistent  with  every 
principle  on  which  it  is  founded,  and  destructive  of  the  great 
object  for  which  it  was  formed."  Jackson  insisted,  also,  that 
it  mattered  not  how  the  tariff  had  been  enacted  or  how  un 
equally  it  operated  upon  any  section  or  sections,  it  was  the 
law  of  the  land  and  had  to  be  obeyed.  Moreover  he  attacked 
the  compact  theory  of  our  government,  thereby  questioning 
the  right  of  a  state  to  secede  or  to  be  an  arbiter  in  the  adjust 
ment  of  grievances. 

The  effect  of  this  state  paper,  the  ablest  of  the  Jacksonian 

87  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  4,  6,   1832. 


152  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

era,  was  to  arouse  the  Carolinians  almost  to  the  point  of  de 
fiance  and  to  strike  terror  to  the  hearts  of  Virginians.  Few 
of  the  latter  sympathized  with  nullification,  except  as  a 
means  of  harrassing  Jackson,  but  they  did  believe  in  the  com 
pact  theory  of  our  government  and  in  the  ultimate  right  of 
a  state  to  secede.  Immediately  a  friendly  Assembly  which 
had  elected  W.  C.  Rives,  an  ardent  follower  of  Jackson,  to  the 
federal  Senate  without  opposition,  was  converted  into  an 
unfriendly  body  which  elected  Tyler,  his  enemy,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Tazewell ;  W.  S.  Archer 
wrote  O.  C.  Cambreleng  of  New  York  that  it  would  simply 
be  out  of  the  question  to  think  of  having  Virginia  endorse 
the  Proclamation;  and  Floyd  rejoiced  to  see  "the  poor  un 
worthy  dogs,  Ritchie,  Van  Buren,  Jackson  and  Co."  com 
pletely  deserted.  So  phenomenal  was  the  transformation  that 
Jackson  suspected  the  Virginians  of  a  secret  alliance  of  long 
standing  with  the  Nullifiers.  "You  see/7  said  he,  in  a  letter 
to  Van  Buren,  "the  course  of  the  Nullifiers-  in  the  Virginia 
Assembly.  I  was  aware  of  the  combination  between  them 
and  Calhoun  and  Company.7'68 

The  Proclamation  placed  JRitchie  in  a  most  embarrass 
ing  position.  He  endorsed  every  word  of  its  argument  against 
Nullification,  but  could  not  agree  with  its  "doctrinal  points'7 
regarding  the  right  of  a  state  to  secede.  But  there  was  also 
[the  practical  side.  Jackson  had  carried  Virginia  by  25,000 
majority  in  1832,  and  the  Assembly  was  overwhelmingly 
'Democratic.  Now  all  these  advantages  seemed  to  be  lost  as 
in  the  twinkle  of  an  eye.  The  main  issue,  however,  was  Nulli 
fication  and  not  secession.  On  this  subject  Ritchie  was  in 
accord  with  the  Proclamtion  and  the  voters  in  the  western 
counties  who,  after  all,  made  up  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Virginia.  Accordingly  he  accepted  the 
general  principles  of  the  Proclamation  in  the  hope  that  it 
would  appeal  to  the  good  sense  and  patriotism  of  the  South 
Carolinians  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  effective.  By  an  occa- 

08  Van  Bur  en  MSS.    Jackson  to  Van  Buren,  December  23,  1832. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  153 

sional  airing1  of  his  opposition  to  its  doctrinal  points  he  was 
also  able  to  lead  the  disaffected  elements  of  the  lowlands. 

The  time  seemed  opportune,  however,  to  destroy  Ritchie's 
influence.  His  attitude  was  not  wholly  pleasing  to  Jackson ; 
ISTullifiers  called  him  a  Federalist;  nationalists  called  him  a 
Xullifier ;  Floyd's  wife  was  certain  that  he  took  his  cue  from 
the  Albany  Regency;  and  Floyd  himself  spoke  of  him  and 
others  of  the  Junto  as  "wretches"  who  had  "deserted  their 
principles  and  the  liberties  of  the  people"  for  the  smiles  of  a 
tyrant."69  After  discovering  that  only  a  few  Virginians 
were  in  active  alliance  with  the  Carolinians,  Jackson's  assur 
ances  that  all  was  well  in  the  Old  Dominion,  "regardless  of 
the  mad  theories  of  a  few  demagogues  &;  politicians,"  gave 
credence  to  the  report  that  Ritchie  was  his  chief  informant 
and  that  he  secretly  approved  the  Proclamation  and  the  con 
templated  use  of  force  in  dealing  with  South  Carolina. 

The  charges  against  him  were  too  numerous  to  answer, 
and  many  of  them  were  too  trivial  to  deny.     Accordingly 
Ritchie  persisted  in  his  devotion  to  the  Union  and  in  his 
fight  for  compromise.    The  same  issue  of  the  Enquirer  which 
contained  his  chief  comments  on  the  Proclamation  contained, 
also,  a  letter  from  Lewis  Cass,  written  probably  at  Jack 
son's  request,  suggesting  that  Virginia,  by  a  committee  of  her 
Assembly,  entreat  South  Carolina  to  retrace  her  steps  and 
to  petition  Congress  for  a  reduction  of  the  tariff.    Three  days 
later,  December  18,  1832,  the  Enquirer  announced  that  Clay 
and  Webster  had  surrendered  and  that  the  tariff  would  in  all 
probability  be  gradually  reduced  to  what  it  had  been  in  1816. 
His  devotion  to  the  Union  finally  righted  him  with  the  ad-   J^s\    (U 
ministration  and  greatly  increased  his  favor  with  the  west-  / 
erners  who  now  poured  out  an  avalanche  of  resolutions  en 
dorsing    the    Proclamation    and    condemning    Nullification.         A//^ 
Meanwhile  his  insistence  upon  the  compact  theory  of  govern-    \\jj\\ 
ment   and   his   personal    antipathy   for    Calhoun   kept   him  \ 

f 

69  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  22,  1832;  Floyd's  Diary,  December  J^ 

15,  1832;  Hid.,  January  1,  1833. 


154  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

straight  in  the  course  between  nationalism  and  Calhoun's 
variety  of  particularism.  Of  the  many  aspirants  to  direct 
the  ship  of  state  he  was  one  of  the  few  who  kept  an  eye  upon 
"the  Rights  of  the  States"  and  "the  Union  of  the  States/' 
the  light-houses  established  by  the  fathers.  Amidst  the  storm 
then  raging  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  pet  policies, 
mediation  in  dealing  with  South  Carolina  and  compromise 
in  disposing  of  the  tariff,  carried  into  effect  in  such  a  man 
ner  as  to  restore  peace  and  harmony  to  the  country.  His 
heart  certainly  beat  with  pride  when  he  recorded  the  events 
which  had  saved  the  Union,  restored  tranquillity,  opened  to 
the  South  a  prospect  of  justice,  and  revived  the  spirit  of  those 
friends  of  liberty  who  had  sighed  because  of  the  threatened 
shipwreck  to  the  only  great  republic  in  the  world. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  155 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

4 

JACKSON  AND  THE  WHIGS. 

Had  not  the  nullification  movement  ended  when  it  did  and 
as  it  did,  the  followers  of  Clay  and  Calhoun  would  have 
united  into  a  formidable  opposition  at  the  very  beginning  of 
Jackson's  second  administration.  The  alliance  of  the  state 
rights  men  of  eastern  and  the  natten-aitats  of-  wcotcrn  -Vi¥» 
ginia,  the  incongruous  «lem^n-t&  of  whieh  its  local— ae4- 
national  Whig  party,  .was.  later  .composed,  .had  -been-  practi- 
cally  complete d.i^-the-wmte£-^f.-l&3^.  It  remained  only  for 
the  party  as  a  whole  to  find  a  common  platform  which  was 
soon  forthcoming  in  the  belated  and  questionable  efforts  of 
each  faction  to  save  the  country  from  executive  usurpation, 
ignorance,  and  general  inefficiency. 

Ritchie  always  insisted  that  the  opposition  factions  had,  in 
some  instances,  combined  to  prevent  Jackson's  re-election, 
and  he  was  confident  that  the  Compromise-  Tariff  was,  ih.e_  \ 
offspring  of  their  intercourse.  The  fact  that  Tyler,  Floyd, 
and  John  Hampden  Pleasants  now  spoke  of  their  old  friend 
of  1825,  Henry  Clay,  as  "our  great  ally  of  the  West" 
and  as  the  deliverer  and  preserver  of  the  Union,  the  value 
of  which  they  had  so  recently  calculated,  and  the  fact  that 
these  believers  in  the  Virginia  doctrines  were -.now  willing 
to^make  concessions  regarding  both  a  national  bank  and  the 
tariff,  following  Clay's  magnanimous  sacrifice  upon  the  altar 
of  his  country,  all  strengthened  Ritchie's  conjectures.1.  The 
following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Tyler  to  Floyd,  written 
at  this  time,  would  have  confirmed  them: 

"In  one  word  I  go  for  the  Union,  not  in  word  but  in  feeling  and 
sentiment.  Would  northern  men  believe  it  that  the  manufacturers 
are  safer  in  the  hands  of  those  wicked  S.  Carolina  nullifiers  than  of 
the  non  descript,  and  yet  it  is  true."2 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  12,  16,  1833;   Hid.,  May  17,  1833. 

2  Floyd  MSS.     January  10,  1833.  ». 


156  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Union  of  the  opposition  and  disaffected  elements  was  not^ 
however,  yet  possible.  Intensity  of  interest  and  disinter 
estedness  of  purpose  had  not  wrought  them  into  a  coherent 
working  party.  Because  of  his  "magnanimous  sacrifice" 
on  the  Tariff  Clay  sought  and  expected  to  win  the  South  and 
to  become  the  logical  and  acceptable  candidate  of  the  whole 
country  for  the  presidency  in  1836.  On  the  other  hand. 
Calhoun  already  regarded  himself  as  the  spokesman  and 
leader  of  the  South  and  hoped,  by  adding  the  West  to  his 
following,  to  reach  the  presidency  as  the  leader  of  a  power 
ful  section.3  In  November,  1833,  Duff  Green  despaired  of 
any  concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the  opposition  factions, 
being,  as  he  was,  unwilling  to  give  up  Calhoun7 s  preten 
sions  and  program.  Meanwhile  he  lost  no  opportunity  to 
sow  discord  in  the  ranks  of  the  administration.  To  this 
end  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson  was  to  be  made  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  that  he  might  become  an  inde 
pendent  candidate  against  Jackson's  choice  for  the  presi 
dency  and  that  the  ranks  of  the  administration  might  be 
thus  broken.4  At  the  same  time  Floyd,  also  a  follower  of 
Calhoun,  thought  it  possible  to  detach  Clay  from  the 
"Northern  harpies"  and  to  induce  him  to  play  a  second 
fiddle  to  his  favorite.  This  was  to  have  been  attempted  in 
the  effort  to  unite  the  South  and  the  West,  and  to  estab 
lish  another  line  of  succession  which  would  have  given  the 
presidency  first  to  Calhoun  and  then  to  Clay.5  These  con 
flicting  interests  and  ambitions  only  delayed  concerted 
action. 

This  delay  operated  to  extend  the  Junto's  hold  upon 
the  political  power  of  Virginia.  In  the  face  of  a  hostile 
Assembly,  which  had  condemned  the  Proclamation  and  the 
Force  Bill  and  re-elected  Tyler  to  the  federal  Senate  only  two 
months  after  it  had  elected  WT.  C.  Rives,  a  devoted  follower 


8  Floyd  •MBS.y  April  16,  30,  1833. 

4  Ibid.,  Duff  Green  to  Floyd,  November   10,  1833. 

5  Ibid.,  Floyd  to  W.  C.  Preston,  November  23,  1833;  Floyd's  Diary, 
November   24,    1833. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  157 

of  Jackson,  Ritchie  appealed  to  Virginia  to  endorse  the 
administration.  The  response  from  the  mountain  and  hill 
counties,  where  the  people  disapproved  of  Clay's  Compromise  , 
and  his  coquetting  with  Calhoim  and  where  the  Old  Hero 
was  still  an  idol,  was  immediate  and  overwhelming.  The 
new  Assembly  contained  National  Republicans  lor  'Cjlay 
men,  Democrats  or  administration  men,  and  seceders  and 
nullifiers  or  ultra  state  rights  men:  and  the  members  of  Con 
gress  elected  at  the  same  time  were  similarity  divided.6  But 
the  administration  stood  vindicated  with  a  majority  in  both 
houses  of  the  Asembly,  and  Ritchie  was  able  to  thwart  all 
efforts  to  remove  him  from  the  office  of  public  printer,7  which 
he  had  held  by  successive  re-elections  for  almost  twenty 
years. 

In  these  days  of  loose  party  ties  political  victories  were  j* 
as  useless  as  they  were  meaningless.  Although  he  had  won 
the  elections,  the  temper  of  the  people  of  Virginia  was  not 
such  as  to  sustain  Jackson  in  a  further  war  upon  the  bank 
such  as  that  which  a  removal  of  the  federal  deposits  would, 
necessitate.  As  has  been  shown  Calhoun's  friends  in  Vir 
ginia  were  not  always  hostile  to  a  national  bank.  Now 
that  war  upon  "that  institution  seemed  to  strengthen  Andrew 
Jackson  politically  and  to  spread  panic  throughout  the  land, 
they  hesitated  more  than  ever^  Accordingly  Ritchie  be-  \ 
came  an  unwilling  spectator  while  the  fruits  of  his  recent 
political  victories  slipped  from  his  very  grasp,  and  the  regular 
opposition  and  the  disaffected  elements  formed  themselves 
into  a  majority  party  in  the  Assembly,  henceforth  to  be 
known  as  the  Whig  party,  a  name  given  the  new  organization 
by  James  Watson  Webb  of  the  New  York  Courier  and  En 
quirer.  'Following  the  course  of  the  federal  Senate  in  con 
demning  the  President  for  the  removal  of  the  deposits  the  As 
sembly  of  Virginia  took  a  similar  course,  forced  the  resigna- " 
tion  of  W.  C.  Rives  from  the  federal  Senate  and  elected  Benj. 
W.  Leigh,  a  friend  of  the  national  bank,  to  the  vacancy, 

6  Richmond  Enquirer,   April   23,  26,    1833. 

7  Ibid.,  December   3,   10,   1833. 


158  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

Delected  Tazewell,  a  Whig,  over  the  administration  aspirants 
I  to  the  governorship,  and  the  majority  party  therein  agreed 
I   upon   a   program  for   preserving  harmony   within   its   own. 
ranks.8     The  course  followed  in  18.32  after  Nullification  and 
\    the  Proclamation  had  thus  been  repeated,  but  it  had  also 
\led  to  the  formation  of  a  great  political  party. 

In  its  eagerness  to  win  political  victories  and  to  serve 
the  material  needs  of  its  members,  the  Whigs  now  scrupu 
lously  avoided  any  references  to  the  constitutionality  of  the 
federal  bank  and  to  its  alleged  political  activities.  But 
Ritchie  claimed  that  these  were  the  all  important  issues 
before  the  people  and  threw  all  the  strength  of  the  Enquirer 
into  a  determined  effort  to  keep  them  alive.  The  public 
prints  give  a  very  inadequate  account,  however,  of  the  depres 
sion  which  had  fallen  upon  the  administration  party  in  Vir 
ginia  and  of  the  actual  conditions  which  existed  there.  This 
ip  revealed  only  in  the  private  correspondence  of  the  leaders. 
Ritchie  himself  wrote  Rives  that  "The  times  are  out  of  joint 
in  politics/'9  and  Gooch,  his  former  partner,  compared  the 
party  violence  and  proscription  to  that  of  the  days  of  the 
Black  Cockade  and  observed  that  the  merchants  and  farmers 
were  being  made  to  feel  the  fangs  of  the  dying  monster;10 
respect  for  its  venerable  editor  was  all  that  saved  the 
Enquirer  from  mob  violence;  John  Rutherford  wrote  that 
none  thought  of  the  constitution  but  only  of  self-interest; 
and  Peter  V.  Daniel  was  threatened  with  the  destruction  of 
his  business  but  continued  to  decry  the  "contemptible  slaves 
of  the  bank" ;  and  the  merchants  of  Richmond  refused  to  buy 
from  those  countrymen  who  supported  Andrew  Jackson.11 
Such  were  the  conditions  under  which  the  party  of  the  awise 
and  the  just,"  which  was  to  rule  that  city  for  ten  years  first 
saw  the  light  in  Richmond. 

^Richmond  Enquirer  January  18,  21,  23,  1834;  Ibid.,  February  27, 
1834. 

9  Rives  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Rives,  January  6,   1834. 

10  Van  Buren  MSS.     Gooch  to  Van  Buren,  March  24,  1834. 

11  Stevenson   MSS.     Rutherford   to   Van    Buren,   March    19,    1834; 
Hid.,  Daniel  to  Stevenson,  March  29,  1834. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  159 

Never  before  had  Ritchie  entered  a  campaign  under  more 
threatening  auspices.  He  owed  the  banks  of  Richmond  large 
sums  and  his  defence  of  them  and  denunciations  of  the 
national  bank  were  constantly  construed  as  due  to  sub 
serviency  to  the  former.  Then,  too,  General  Jackson, 
despite  the  attitude  of  the  General  Assembly,  was  preparing 
to  protest  against  the  federal  Senate's  resolutions  of  censure. 
The  effects  of  the  Proclamation  were  not  yet  dead  and  Ritchie 
dreaded  the  appearance  of  such  a  state  paper  and  entreated 
Stevenson  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  suppress  it.  "If  such  a 
paper  is  sent,"  said  he,  "it  must  do  great  mischief.  It  may 
turn  the  tide  completely  in  Virginia.  I  pray  heaven  that 
this  message  may  not  ruin  us.  You  can  not  act  too  promptly 
and  decisively.  Show  this,  if  you  please,  to  the  President."  12 

On  the  day  before  Ritchie's  letter  to  Stevenson,  urging 
Jackson  to  use  moderation,  was  written  the  famous  "Pro 
test"  was  sent  to  the  Senate.  Had  they  reached  Washington 
in  time  a  dozen  letters  like  that  from  Ritchie  and  others  as 
prominent  in  the  councils  of  the  party  as  he,  would  have 
availed  nothing.  The  Old  Hero  was  furious  at  the  presump- 
i  tion  of  Clay  and  Calhoun  in  daring  to  censure  him,  and,  as 
usual  on  such  occasions,  it  was  impossible  to  restrain  him. 
Conscious  that  "The  eyes  of  the  world  are  upon  us,"  a 
favorite  expression,  Ritchie  returned  to  his  efforts  to  save 
the  Assembly  of  Virginia  from  the  control  of  the  hated 
"piebald"  party.  He  was  determined  that  his  children 
should  never  reproach  him  for  sitting  idly  in  his  domicile 
"while  the  measures  were  being  prepared  for  a  loss  of  our 
liberty." 13  The  monster  was  to  be  decapitated  that  it  might 
be  rooted  out  of  Virginia  and  Clay  be  sent  to  a  deserved 
oblivion. 

The  campaign  resulted  in  a  complete  victory  for  the 
Whigs,  and  Ritchie  was  forced  to  endure  his  first  great 
political  defeat.  The  re-election  of  Leigh  to  the  federal 
Senate  was  assured,  and  all  the  Democratic  accomplish- 

12  Stevenson  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Stevenson,  April  18,  1834. 
18  Ibid.,  Ritchie  to  Stevenson,  April  10,  1834. 


160  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

incnts  stood  in  danger  of  being  reversed.  In  a  character 
istic  manner.  Ritchie  forgot  himself  in  his  sympathy  for 
his  friends  who  had  been  overtaken  by  defeat.  The  follow 
ing  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  friend  Stevenson  tells  the 
whole  story: 

"Roane's  defeat  stung  me  worse  than  any  other  electors?  I  have 
ever  known.  Even  J.  Q's  was  not  so  bitter  to  me.  But  I  tried  to  keep 
up  my  spirits  hoping  for  better  things  elsewhere. 

"Blair  would  not  believe  me  last  August — &  you  would  scarcely 
listen  to  me  in  November,  when  I  predicted  to  you  the  mischievous 
consequences  of  removing  the  deposits.  I  fear  we  shall  rue  the 
precipitate  step  in  sackcloth  &  ashes.  But  what  is  now  to  be  done? 
It  requires  wiser  heads  and  firmer  hearts  than  mine  to  say.  I  am 
not  in  a  mood  to  speculate  upon  these  events.  But  unless  we  are 
wiser  than  we  have  been,  our  enemies  will  crow  over  us  &  our  party 
will  present  nothing  but  a  splendid  ruin.  The  terrors  of  the  Bank 
are  now  carefully  kept  out  of  view  by  a  desperate  opposition,  and 
the  cry  is  that  the  President,  in  his  usurpation,  has>  seized  upon  the 
public  purse,  &.  &.  &. 

"Have  you,  my  dear  Sir,  consulted  with  him  about  the  proposition 
I  suggested  of  coming  before  Congress,  recommending  a  wise  system 
of  state  banks  stript  of  executive  control  and  abuse,  &.  &. 

"God   knows   when   I   am  to  write  you  good   news. 

"Pray  burn  this  and  the  other  letter.  I  unbosom  to  you  in  the 
utmost  confidence  of  my  friendship,  think,  consult  the  strongest  heads 
of  our  party,  and  coolly  and  firmly,  or  else  we  are  lost.  For  myself 
and  those  who  are  dearer  to  me  than  my  life  (he  expected  to  lose  the 
public  printing),  I  would  eschew  politics  forever  &  live  upon  bread 
and  water.  *  *  *  I  have  one  consolation  in  the  utmost  frank 
ness  against  these  unfortunate  measures,  but  in  vain.  I  have  destroyed 
all  our  confidential  scraps  for  fear  of  accident.  'So  do  with  my  two 
last."  14 


Political  sagacity  kept  Ritchie's  heartburnings  from  the 
public.  Before  the  smoke  of  the  battle  had  cleared  he  came 
forward  in  a  "prediction,"  which  shows  clear  political  in 
sight  and  that  its  author  had  lost  none  of  his  ability  or 
determination  as  a  fighter.  "A  strange  and  unnatural  com 
bination/'  said  he,  "has  gained  a  temporary  ascendency  which 
it  must  lose  as  soon  as  its  object  is  accomplished.  When  it 
comes  to  act  upon  any  subject  of  policy  or  principle,  not 
connected  with  hatred  to  Jackson,  it  must  fall  to  pieces,  and 
commence  a  war  inter  se.  It  contains  all  the  elements  of  dis- 

14  Stevenson  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Stevenson.      (No  date.) 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  161 

solution,  and  is  destined  to  share  the  fate  of  other  mon 
strous  alliances. 

a]^ever  was  there  a  party  in  which  the  seeds  of  its  own 
dissolution  were  more  deeply  sown.  Principle  may  divide 
them — policy  may  sever  them,  but  the  presidential  election 
is  being  organized  at  this  very  moment ;  and  it  must  break 
them  to  pieces.  True,  Mr.  Clay  said  the  other  day  in  the 
Senate  in  reply  to  Mr.  Grundy :  Tor  one,  I  can  assure  the 
Senator  from  Tennessee  that  I  am  no  candidate — that  I  do 
not  desire  to  be  a  candidate — and,  that,  if  it  depends  upon 
me  alone,  I  never  shall  be  a  candidate  for  any  office  whatso 
ever  !'  But,  Mr.  Clay  has  not  yet  acquired  the  very  first 
principle  of  the  ancient  Metaphysicians:  'He  knows  not 
himself/  He  who  has  been  .threajimes  a  candidate  for  the 
highest  honor  in  the  world  will  not  suffer  it  to  escape  him, 
if  he  thinks  he  is  able  to  clutch  it.  He  will  not  suffer 
all  his  late  labors  in  the  Senate  to  pass  for  naught.  If  hope 
whispers  him  of  success,  he  will  attempt  to  reap  the  harvest. 
Even  if  his  own  modesty  would  withdraw  him  from  the 
contest,  the  zeal  of  his  friends  will  hurry  him  into  the  arena. 

"But  even  ambition  does  not  burn  so  intensely  in  his 
bosom,  as  it  does  in  the  heart  of  another  leader  of  the  Senate 
(Mr.  Calhoun).  If  recent  signs  do  not  deceive  us,  this  extra 
ordinary  man  (extraordinary  every  way  for  the  vigor  of  his 
mind,  the  variety  of  his  principles,  and  the  intensity  of  his 
ambition)  will  soon  take  the  field,  with  feeble  hope  of  win 
ning  the  voices  of  the  South,  as  well  as  the  support  of  the 
Bank.  Then  shall  we  see  under  which  king  the  various 
members  of  the  opposition  will  range  themselves." 

Following  the  triumphant  victory  of  the  Whigs,  politics 
in  Virginia  were  in  a  hurly-burly.  The  indications  were 
that  the  new  party  had  come  to  stay,  and  the  usual  pro 
fessions  of  faith  and  reaffiliations  on  such  occasions  of 
those  willing  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  people  and  to  keep  in 
pace  with  the  progress  of  the  times  were  in  order.  When 
submitted  to  the  scathing  ridicule  of  Ritchie  and  Daniel, 
the  parting  respects  of  W.  S.  Archer  and  other  former 
Demo'crats  who  now  climbed  into  the  Whig  band-wagon 


162  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

attracted  state-wide  interest,  In  the  enthusiasm  of  their  suc 
cess  the  Whigs  began  to  suggest  some  of  their  more  promi 
nent  partisans,  such  as  Tyler  and  Leigh  for  the  presidency 
or  the  vice-presidency,  but  Ritchie  refused  to  follow  the 
decoy  and  repeatedly  warned  the  people  that  the  "monster" 
proposed  to  make  Clay  and  Calhoun  in  turn  President. 

Adversity  frequently  points  the  road  to  success,  and  so 
it  now  proved  with  the  Democrats  of  Virginia.     Recovery 
from  the  shock  of  their  defeat  was   rapid,   and  they  now 
began  to  prepare  for  the  future.    Hitherto  the  Enquirer  had 
coped  almost  single-handed  with  a  numerous  and  ably  con 
ducted  opposition  press,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  John 
Hampden  Pleasants,  a  foeman  worthy  of  the  steel  of  any 
"knight  of  the  quill"  of  his  day.     A  movement  was  now  set 
on  foot  to  establish  administration  presses  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  state  to  aid  Ritchie  in  his  work 
of  reclamation.     After  their  characteristic  methods  for  find 
ing  out  things  and  executing  policies,  the  politicians  had 
awakened  to  the  fact  that  Jacksonian  Democracy  carried  with 
it  an  obligation  to  educate  the  people,  and  they  very  reluc 
tantly  complied  with  that  demand  to  secure  their  own  self- 
<    interest.     Accordingly  Democratic  presses  were  established 
11  in  most  of  the  leading  towns,  whence  the  seeds  of  discord 
u  were  sowed  among  the  ranks  of  the  opposition.15   To  this  end 
^  the  ambitions  of  Clay  and  Calhoun  were  made  to  run  counter 
at  every  possible  turn. 

Finally  it  was  decided  to  prevent  the  re-election  of  Leigh 
to  the  federal  Senate.  Relying  upon  the  anti-bank  sentiment 
which  prevailed  in  Virginia,  a  large  majority  of  the 
Assembly  being  unwilling  to  endorse  that  institution,  his 
known  friendship  for  the  national  bank,  and  his  unpopularity 
in  the  western  counties,  which  did  not  like  his  course  in  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  1829-'30,  a  bold  attempt  was 
to  be  made  to  force  the  Whig  party  to  repudiate  one  of  its 
ablest  leaders  or  incur  odium  in  refusing  to  do  so.  To  this 
end  numerous  post-election  polls,  frequently  determined  by 

%.  15  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  25,   1834. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  1C3 

house  to  house  canvasses,  were  made  in  those  counties  of 
which  the  Whig  assemblymen  were  willing  to  vote  for  Leigh 
regardless  of  his  opinion  upon  the  constitutionality  and 
necessity  of  a  national  bank.  Kitchie  took  an  active 
part  in  these  canvasses,  urging  the  sacredness  of  the  time 
honored  right  of  instruction.  When  the  Assembly  met  in 
December,  1834,  he  was  confident  that  the  backbone  of  the 
Whig  party  had  been  broken,  because  the  electors  in  both 
the  eastern  and  western  counties  had  responded  in  no  uncer 
tain  terms  to  the  campaign  against  Leigh.16 

With  Virginia  ripe,  as  Ritchie  thought,  for  another 
change  his  greatest  solicitude  was  regarding  Jackson.  At 
one  time  the  ill-fated  Proclamation  had  robbed  the  Demo 
crats  of  Virginia  of  the  fruits  of  their  political  victories  and 
sent  Tyler  to  the  federal  Senate,  and  at  another  the  removal 
of  the  deposits  and  the  famous  Protest  had  driven  Rives  from 
that  body  and  sent  Leigh  to  fill  the  vacancy.  On  each  occa- 
sionjRitchie  had  opposed  the  action  of  the  administration  as 
suicidal  to  the  party.  Now  it  was  rumored  that  war  upon 
the  bank  was  to  work  a  forfeiture  of  its  charter  and  that 
Jackson  was  on  the  point  of  granting  Letters  of  Marque  and 
Reprisal  upon  the  commerce  of  France  to  force  that  proud 
nation  to  a  quickened  sense  of  its  financial  obligations  to 
us.  A  conservative  by  nature,  Ritchie  thought  he  saw  in 
such  ill-advised  steps  the  complete  annihilation  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  in  Virginia.  Certainly,  Leigh  could  not  be 
defeated,  if  they  were  persisted  in.  Accordingly  he  pled 
with  Van  Buren  and  Stevenson  against  the  use  of  any  "bold 
and  questionable  proposition"  regarding  the  bank  that  would 
furnish  a  new  "handle  to  his  (Jackson's)  and  our  enemies," 
and  he  expressed  surprise  that  any  one  at  Washington  had 
thought  of  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal.  "The  measure 
is  too  hasty  in  any  event,"  said  he.  "It  is  not  called  for  by 
the  present  state  of  the  question.  I  have  not  seen  a  single 


™Van  Buren  M88.  W.  C.  Rives  to  Van  Buren,  October  14,  1834; 
Richmond  Enquirer,  August  29,  1834;  Ibid.,  October  3,  1834;  Ibid., 
December  4,  1834. 


164  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

person  who  is  in  favor  of  the  measure.  Rely  upon  it  that 
the  people  will  be  decidedly  against  it.  *  *  *  I  should 
be  under  the  necessity  of  raising  my  humble  voice  as  strongly 
as  I  could  against  it.77 17  Instead  he  would  have  let  the  bank 
alone  and  referred  the  subject  of  our  international  relations 
to  Congress. 

None  of  Ritchie's  precautions  could  save  him  and  his 
v  party  in  Virginia  from  the  penalties  of  their  defeat.  Amid 
one  of  the  most  exciting  contests  ever  witnessed  at  the  state 
capital,  Leigh  secured  a  re-election  to  the  Senate,  and  Ritchie 
himself  later  became  aa  martyr"  to  the  political  proscrip 
tions  which  were  now  revived  for  the  first  time  in  more  than 
thirty  years.  The  public  printing  was  given  to  Samuel 
Shepherd;  Linn  Banks  had  a  close  call  for  re-election  to 
the  Speakership  of  the  House  of  Delegates ;  and  P.  V. 
Daniel  lost  his  place  in  the  Governor's  council.18  It  was 
more  than  "Old  Nous  Verrons"  could  endure  gracefully,  and 
he  now  began  to  fight  like  a  stag  at  bay.  Long  editorial 
articles  appeared  in  the  Enquirer  on  the  right  of  instruction 
and  the  duty  of  obedience,  on  the  unprecented  use  of  poli 
tical  proscription  in  Virginia,  on  the  dangers  with  which  a 
probable  restoration  of  the  monster  would  surround  the  state 
banks,  and  on  the  consuming  ambition  of  Clay  and  Calhoun 
to  reach  the  presidency.  Under  the  slogan  "heads  up"  he 
'  rallied  the  unterrified  for  the  election  of  18*35,  confident  that 
the  people  would  resent  the  ruthless  manner  in  which  their 
instructions  had  been  disregarded  by  the  "piebald  Whigs" 
in  the  re-election  of  Leigh.  All  the  available  letters  and 
resolutions  of  protest  against  Leigh's  election  were  now  pub 
lished  at  length,  and  appeal  after  appeal  was  made  to  the 
sovereign  people  to  redress  their  wrongs.19 

(Meanwhile  the  abolition  had  swallowed  up  the  anti- 
lavery  movement  and  in  so  doing  had  pressed  negro  slavery 
o  the  front  as  a  political  and  economic  question.  Until 

17  Stevenson  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Stevenson.      (No  date.) 

18  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  9,   1834;   Ibid.,  January  29,  1835. 
18  Ibid.,  February  28,  1835. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  165 

1830  Virginia  had  maintained  a  studied  silence  on  this 
all  important  subject,  because  silence  had  meant  security  at 
home  and  political  friends  abroad.  But,  when  a  band  of 
deluded  negroes  had  rushed  like  a  pack  of  hungry  wolves 
upon  helpless  women  and  children  in  the  dead  of  night, 
assaulting  and  murdering  them  in  what  was  called  "!N"at" 
Turner's  Insurrection,  and  when  the  political  skies  were 
growing  ominously  dark,  it  became  impossible  "to  keep 
things  quiet  south  of  the  Potomac."  Accordingly, 


as  the  faithful  spokesman  of  the  people,  warned  his  fellow 
countrymen  of  the  folly  of  shutting  their  eyes  and  avert 
ing  their  faces  from  "the  black  and  gnawing  evil,  "which 
stood  at  their  doors.  In  no  equivocal  terms  he  urged  the 
gradual  abolition  of  negro  slavery  and  the  removal  of  the 
free  people  of  color  from  the  Commonwealth.  In  support  of 
this  bold  stand  he  showed  that  every  census  made  the  black 
cloud  larger  and  more  appalling;  that  the  laws  of  the  sister 
states  to  the  southward  against  the  domestic  slave-trade  would 
cut  off  the  market  for  surplus  negroes;  and  that  thousands 
of  Virginia's  non-slaveholders  were  pouring  into  the  West 
and  the  Southwest  to  escape  the  evils  of  an  institution  which 
had  already  impoverished  them  and  was  now  threatening 
to  debase  them.  He  also  urged  immediate  action,  insisting 
that  it  was  not  a  time  to  sit  quietly  down  in  the  consola 
tion  that  their  grand  children  would  eliminate  "the  black 
curse,"  but  that  it  was  a  crisis  requiring  the  immediate  atten 
tion  of  statesmen  and  patriots.20 

Like  a  spark  to  the  parched  prairie  Eitchie's  bold  stand 
soon  attracted  attention  throughout  the  entire  Union  and 
aroused  all  the  latent  indifference  of  the  Old  Dominion. 
For  days  the  Assembly  had  hesitated  to  break  the  profound 
silence;  but  now  that  it  had  been  broken  by  the  fearless 
leader  of  all  reforms,  the  people  of  the  western  counties 
responded  in  petitions  and  resolutions  urging  the  gradual 
abolition  of  negro  slavery,  and  the  slaveholding  aristocracy 
stood  aghast,  hesitating  between  the  dictates  of  conscience  and 

20  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  7,  1832.  "X 


166  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

their  material  well  being.  Some  sided  with  Ritchie,  who  was 
himself  a  slaveholder,  but  others  planned  his  destruction, 
as  his  enemies  had  done  in  1829-'30.  The  following  letter 
indicates  the  attitude  toward  him  in  parts  of  the  "south  side"  : 

"Messers  Editors: — Owing  to  the  late  publication  in  your  paper 
advising  the  gradual  emancipation  of  our  slaves,  you  will  discontinue 
sending  the  Enquirer  to  my  post-office  &  consider  me  no  longer  a  sub 
scriber  to  a  paper  so  reckless  in  its  course  and  so  regardless-  of  the 
safety  and  property  of  others. 

Yours,  etc. 

Nath.   Alexander." 

But  Mr.  Alexander  was  not  willing  to  stop  here.  In  an 
address  to  the  people  of  Halifax  and  Mecklenberg,  two  of  the 
largest  slaveholding  counties  in  the  state,  he  attacked  the 
practicability  of  emancipation,  pointing  out  especially  the 
dangers  of  agitation,  and  urged  the  slave-holders  to  discon 
tinue  the  Enquirer,  which,  he  maintained,  was  trimming 
its  sails  to  the  awinds  which  seemed  to  be  blowing 
westwardly."21 

To  both  friends  and  assailants  Ritchie's  replies  were 
firm  and  sane.  He  discontinued  Mr.  Alexander's  paper  with 
pleasure;  reiterated  his  former  remarks  upon  the  subject  of 
negro  slavery;  and  assured  the  slave-holders  that  he  would 
have  adhered  to  his  customary  silence  in  dealing  with  that 
subject,  had  not  athe  still  small  voice  of  conscience"  made 
such  a  course  impossible.  At  the  same  time  he  pled  for  the 
freedom  of  the  press,  quoted  from  Jefferson  and  others  of 
the  fathers  to  justify  his  position,  and  disclaimed  any  sin 
ister  design  upon  the  west.22  Despite  the  opposition  which 
he  encountered,  Ritchie's  editorials  were  doubtless  potent  in 
committing  the  House  of  Delegates,  by  a  vote  of  60  ayes 
to  67  noes,  as  favoring  some  measures  for  the  gradual  aboli 
tion  of  slavery.23 

Ritchie's  subsequent  silence  upon  the  subject  of  aboli 
tion,  continuing,  as  it  did,  nearly  uninterrupted  for  almost 

21  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  12,  1832. 

22  Hid. 

23  Journal,  House  of  Delegates,  1831-'32,  p.  110. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  167 

two  years,  was  doubtless  due  to  his  desire  for  accord  within 
the  Democratic  party  and  not  to  the  intimidating  threats  of 
his  assailants.  It  was  plain  to  his  mind  that  much  of  the 
agitation  in  both  the  North  and  the  South  and  in  Congress, 
that  the  proceedings  of  American  Anti-Slavery  Society,  and 
the  demands  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  had  no  other  object  than  that  of  keeping  Van 
Buren  from  the  presidency.  If  they  had  other  purposes, 
then  he  saw  in  such  movements  a  menace  to  the  Union  and 
refused  to  give  them  publicity.  Already  he  suspected  Cal-\ 
houn  and  Duff  Green  of  a  design  ato  pick  a  quarrel  with  the  I 
North  about  the  negro"  in  an  effort  to  unite  the  South,  that  \ 
Calhoun  might  reach  the  presidency  as  the  leader  of  a  power 
ful  section.  When  he  did  speak  upon  the  subject  of  negro 
slavery  it  was  only  to  condemn  the  abolitionists  as  dis- 
unionists  and  to  expose  the  political  designs  of  Calhoun.  By 
the  use  of  elaborate  extracts  from  the  northern  prints  he 
attempted  to  show,  what  was  doubtless  true,  that  the  inhabi 
tants  of  the  North  were  for  the  most  part  friendly  to  the 
South  and  to  her  institutions  and  that  Calhoun  and  his 
followers  had  greatly  exaggerated  the  nature  and  scope  of 
the  abolition  movement.24  It  is  not  surprising  therefore  that 
the  United  States  Telegraph,  edited  by  Duff  Green,  placed 
the  editor  of  the  Enquirer  in  a  class  with  the  abolitionists 
and  denounced  his  subserviency  to  the  North. 

Though  eager  to  win  in  the  local  elections,  disposed  to 
'  discount  the  importance  of  the  abolition  movement,  and 
practically  committed  to  Van  Buren,  Ritchie  hesitated  to 
espouse  his  candidacy  openly.  He  still  placed  a  high  value 
upon  the  alliance  between  the  northern  and  southern  Demo 
crats,  but  the  persistency  of  the  abolitionists,  together  with 
the  teachings  of  Thomas  R,  Dew,  had  wrought  a  complete 
change  in  his  mind  regarding  negro  slavery.  By  1835  he, 
in  common  witli  many  other  Southerners  who  had  formerly 
favored  abolition,  saw  that  any  possible  solution  of  the 

24  Richmond  Enquirer,  April    16,   20,    1833;    IUd.,  June   28,    1833; 
Ibid.,  July  26,  1833. 


168  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

slavery  problem  would  leave  behind  it  a  greater,  the  negro 
problem.  Without  admitting  Calhoun  or  any  of  his  friends 
to  his  council  and  after  the  Democrats  of  the  Assembly  had 
endorsed  Van  Buren's  candidacy  in  secret  caucus,  Ritchie 
tactfully  sought  to  ascertain  by  letter  his  opinions  upon 
the  right  -of  Congress  to  interfere,  constitutionally,  with 
slavery  in  the  states  and  upon  the  expediency  of  abolishing 
the  slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.25  In  due  time 
a  favorable  reply  was  received  through  Silas  Wright,  and 
the  Enquirer  began  forthwith  to  demand  justice  and  grati 
tude  for  the  man  whose  only  magic  was  his  good  sense  and 
good  humor.26 

Having  decided  upon  a  national  standard  bearer,  Ritchie 
buckled  on  his  armor  to  retrieve  the  defeat  of  1834.  Mean 
while  new  conditions  had  arisen  which  promised  to  per 
petuate  the  Whig  rule.  The  referendum  on  the  senatorship 
had  exposed  Leigh's  unpopularity  and  had  put  an  end  to  the 
premature  efforts  to  strengthen  the  Whig  party  locally  by 
.rallying  the  voters  to  him  for  the  presidency.  Accordingly 
the  Whigs  now  endorsed  Judge  White,  whose  candidacy  had 
been  launched  in  the  hope  of  defeating  Van  Buren  and  of 
disrupting  the  Democratic  party.  Locally  the  Whigs  were 
not  so  much  concerned  with  White's  candidacy  for  the  presi 
dency  as  they  were  with  'electing  " White  men"  to  the 
Assembly,  who  would  be  willing  to  join  with  the  regular 
Whigs  against  the  administration  and  thus  control  the 
patronage.  From  the  very  first  Ritchie  saw  through  their 
designs  and  expressed  the  hope  that  the  "old  man"  (White) 
would  soon  understand  the  efforts  being  made  to  use  him 
as  a  stalking-horse  for  others,  and  that  he  would  return  to 
the  Democratic  fold.27 

—The  campaign  which  followed  for  members  of  the  Assem- 
bly  and  for  representatives  in  Congress  was  one  of  the  most 
hotly  contested  ever  waged  in  Virgini^  Ritchie  and  others 

25  Van  Buren  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  March  2,  1835. 
28  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  20,  31,   1835. 

27  Van  Buren  MSS.  Daniel  to  Van  Buren,  February  22,  1835; 
Richmond  Enquirer,  March  3,  1835. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  169 

of  the  Junto  fought  for  their  political  lives  with  odds 
greatly  in  their  favor  but  with  a  majority  to  overcome.  Thel 
good  crops  and  high  prices  of  1834  had  dissipated  the  panic  I 
.scare;  the  re-election  of  Leigh  had  proved  suicidal;  andl 
Vhe  Whigs  of  the  western  counties  preferred  Van  Buren  to 
jVhite,  if  Clay  was  to  be  abandoned.  Both  parties  foughj 
for  the  presidency.  Had  the  Whigs  secured  a  majority  in 
the  Assembly,  they  might  have  been  able  to  unite  upon 
Judge  White  for  the  presidency  with  a  hope  of  carrying  the 
state  for  him.  Though  Van  Buren  was  favored  by  Jackson  and 
the  North,  such  a  contingency  would  have  been  a  powerful 
factor  toward  eliminating  him  from  the  contest  in  favor  of 
some  man  who  could  carry  the  South.  The  story  of  "a 
corrupt  bargain"  between  Ritchie  and  Van  Buren  looking 
to  the  promotion  o,f  the  latter  to  the  presidency  and  supposed 
to  have  been  made  about  1829  was  launched  but  to  no  avail. 
The  administration  leaders  were  steadfast  and  achieved  a 
victory  which  for  completeness  surpassed  their  most  san 
guine  expectations.  The  importance  of  the  result  wa^  fivi-  .  - 
dent,  pudge  Parker  assured  Van  Buren  that  all  was  well 
in  the  Old  Dominion,28  and  Ritchie  wrote  that  all  opposi 
tion  to  his  candidacy  in  the  South  would  now  quickly 
disappear.29 

This  triumphant  victory  of  the  Democrats  in  Virginia 
did  more  than  place  the  candidacy,  if  not  the  election,  of 
Van  Buren  beyond  the  question  of  a  doubt.  It  inspired, 
Ritchie  and  the  Junto  with  an  ambition  to  name  his  sue*)  *-4 


The   political   alliance   between 
New  York  and  Virginia,  which  they  had  so  zealously  main-; 
tained,   had  relegated  the  politicians   of  the  old   school  in  ' 
Virginia,    Floyd,    Giles,    and    Tazewell,    to   oblivion,    made 
Stevenson  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives/placed 
Virginians  in  the  most  important  foreign  missions,  deter 
mined    the    personnel    of    the    Supreme    Court,    and    made 
Ritchie   political   arbiter   of  his   own   and   the   neighboring 

28  Van  Buren  MSS.    May  8,  1835. 

29  Rives  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Rives,  May  19,   1835. 


170  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

states.  That  same  alliance  was  now  to  be  used  to  elevate 
W.  C.  Rives  first  to  the  vice-presidency  and  later  to  the 
presidency.  The  few  days  intervening  between  the  election 
of  1835  and  the  meeting  of  the  Baltimore  Convention  were 
given  up  almost  entirely  to  furthering  this  plan.  The  fol 
lowing  extract  from  a  letter  by  Ritchie  to  Rives  himself 
throws  light  upon  the  situation : 

"You  know  I  have  carefully  foreborne  touching  upon  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  Not  a  word,  line,  or  syllable  has'  been  exchanged  between 
us  on  the  subject.  But  I  think  it  high  time  to  tell  you  (P.  P.  Barbour 
being  out  of  the  question  who  in  my  opinion  has  superior  claims  to 
any  one  in  the  Jnion,  on  account  of  his  long  service  )\  that  my  heart 
is  now  set  upon  your  elevation  from  the  Floor  to  the  Chair  of  the 
Senate.  I  had  hoped  that  the  thing  was  fixed;  and  I  had  given  myself 
less  concern  than  I  ought  to  about  it,  but  I  am  informed  since  Friday 
night  that  some  of  our  strongest  friends  at  Washington  think  that 
Richd.  M.  Johnson  ought  to  have  the  nomination,  great  as  they 
admit  your  claims  to  be.  What  is  the  desire  of  Mr.  V.  B.  on  the 
subject  I  am  unable  to  say;  though  it  seems  to  me  that  he  would  prefer 
yourself.  I  will  not  inform  you  of  all  that  has  passed  since  Saturday 
morning.  But  I  have  not  hesitated  with  all  the  respect  I  feel  for  Col. 
Johnson,  to  press  your  name  in  every  way  that  appeared  proper  to  me. 
I  have  this  evening  written  two  letters  to  two  of  the  delegates  of 
the  Convention,  one  from  Virginia  and  the  other  from  the  West,  and 
.1  have  also  addressed  myself  to  a  gentleman  at  Washington,  wlio  can, 
if  he  thinks  fit,  exercise  a  sort  of  'potential  voice'  upon  the  pro 
ceedings  of  an  important  part  of  his  Delegation.  1  am  assured  by 
every  man  that  I  have  seen  that  you  are  the  favorite  candidate  of  this 
state.  I  think  from  what  two  of  the  N.  C.  Delegation  told  me  you 
will  receive  their  support.  Col.  Watkins  (ever  zealous*  and  efficient) 
&  Col.  Morgan,  who  took  the  steam  boat  on  Sunday,  will  go  by  way 
of  the  Potomac  &  Washington.  Peter  V.  Daniel  has  been  induced  by 
the  emergency  of  the  case  to  go  to  Baltimore,  and  will  take  Wash 
ington  in  his  way.  What  the  result  may  be  it  ia  utterly  impossible 
to  guess.  I  shall  be  most  deeply  disappointed  if  we  do  not  prevail. 
I  have  freely  told  &  written  my  friends  that  with  your  name  associated 
on  the  ticket,  I  think  Virginia  and  the  South  will  be  safe,  with  Col. 
Johnson  less  than  safe. 

"I  beg  you  for  the  present  to  say  and  write  as  little  upon  the 
question  as  possible.  I  have  no  authority  now  to  tell  you  why.  But 
be  content  if  you  receive  the  nomination,  to  accept  it  in  a  way  which 
you  so  well  know  how  to  express,  and  if  the  Cup  be  unfortunately 
passed  to  another  lip,  to  bear  your  disappointment  as  becomes  you."  30 

When  the  Democratic  convention  met  in  Baltimore  on 
May  20th);  one  day  after  Ritchie  wrote  the  letter  to  Rives 

so  Rives  MSS. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  171 

from  which  the  above  extract  was  taken  and  almost  eigh 
teen  months  before  the  election,  the  Virginians  semed  omni 
potent.  In  a  speech  overflowing  with  optimism,  its  presi 
dent,  Andrew  Stevenson,  himself  a  member  of  the  Junto, 
defended  the  convention  system,  then  in  use  for  the  second 
time  by  the  Democrats,  and  pointed  the  way  to  Van  Buren' s 
nomination  by  such  interrogations  as  "Who  will  best  pre 
serve  the  unity  of  the  Democratic  party  ?  Who  best  under 
stands  the  principles  and  motives  of  our  government  ?"  and 
"Who  will  carry  out  the  principles  of  the  Jeffersonian  era 
and  General  Jackson's  administration?"  After  some  debate 
the  two-thirds  rule  was  readopted,  and  amid  the  smiles  of 
its  obedient  members  the  convention  ratified  General  Jack 
son's  choice  for  the  succession. 

This  apparent  unanimity  was  destroyed  in  the  vote  for  the 
vice-presidential  nomination.  $Vith  the  aid  of  New  York, 
Johnson  defeated  Rives,  receiving  barely  the  necessary  two- 
thirds  majority.)  The  only  attempted  explanation  of  New 
York's  vote  was  the  necessity  of  crippling  Clay  or  Harri 
son,  each  prospective  nominees  of  the  opposition  for  the 
presidency,  by  running  a  western  man  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  for  the  vice-presidency.  Politically  it  was  sound,  but 
the  Virginians  were  not  always  willing  to  play  politics,  even 
with  their  New  York  allies  and  teachers,  when  they  them 
selves  could  not  be  the  beneficiaries.  As  Silas  Wright  now 
expressed  it  they  were  "wild"  and  "too  astute  as  to  their 
principles  and  too  little  practical  in  their  political  course."31 
In  view  of  this  betrayal  they  did  not  hesitate  to  lay  violent 
hands  upon  the  ark  of  the  covenant  and  announce  on  the  floor 
of  the  convention  their  intention  to  oppose  the  election  of 
Johnson  whose  principles  and  character  they  could  not 
respect. 

Thus  was  struck  the  first  effective  blow  at  the  coalition 
between  New  York  and  Virginia,  which  had  placed  Jackson 
in  the  presidency,  was  about  to  name  his  successor,  and 
has  been  a  potent,  though  not  always  a  wholesome  factor,  in 

31  Van  Buren  MSS.     Silas  Wright  to  Van  Buren. 


172  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

American  politics  from  that  day  to  this.  The  blow  had 
been  struck  by  personal  ambition  which  has  always  been 
the  greatest  menace  to  political  coalitions.  Separated  by 
powerful  rival  commonwealths  at  sufficient  distance  to  re 
move  local  friction  nothing  remained  in  a  material  way, 
except  possibly  the  tariff,  which  neither  has  ever  taken  seri 
ously,  to  mar  their  industrial  and  commercial  relations,  and, 
as  political  principles  and  issues  frequently  find  their  basis 
in  self-interest,  it  has  always  been  easy  for  New  York  and 
Virginia  to  co-operate  in  political  movements.  Thus  the 

/  Grand  Old  Commonwealth  has  been  kept  subservient  to 
Tammany  Hall,  while  its  citizens  praised  their  leaders  as 
patriots  and  statesmen  and  strangers  looked  on  with  con 
tempt  and  frequently  with  jeers  in  imitation  of  Calhoun's 
attitude  in  the  thirties  and  the  forties.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  Calhoun  is  today  regarded  as  one  of  the  South' s  greatest 
statesmen,  the  question  naturally  arises  what  will  the  South 
and  Virginia,  fifty  years  hence,  think  of  those  who  have 
recently  tried  to  break  the  political  dependence  of  the  South 
upon  New  York  ?• 

The  healing  of  this  schism,  which  always  left  a  scar, 
called  for  skill  and  diplomacy.  Silas  Wright  and  Van 
Buren  each  sent  personal  letters  to  Rives,  Ritchie,  Parker, 
and  Daniel ;  Van  Buren  himself  visited  Rives  in  his  home  at 
Castle  Hill  ;32  and  the  northern  prints  were  profuse  in  their 
praise  of  the  Virginians,  tactics  familiar  and  effective  even  in 
this  day.  After  some  delay  Van  Buren  was  received  into 

J  full  fellowship,  a  favor  never  extended  to  Johnson,  and  the 
flag  of  Democracy  was  again  unfurled  with  the  slogan  "heads 
up"  and  to  the  contest}  Van  Buren's  letter  to  Dr.  William 
McK.  Gwin  of  Mississippi  in  further  explanation  of  his 
attitude  toward  negro  slavery,  together  with  B.  F.  Butler's 
Exposition,33  were  taken  as  further  evidences  of  their  can 
didate's  southern  principles,  and  his  election  was  now  urged  as 

82  Van  Buren  MSS. 

ss  Richmond  Enquirer,   July  28,    1835. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  173 

necessary  for  the  preservation  of  tlie  Union  and  the  national 
Democracy.34 

But  others,  notably  the  leaders  of  the  lower  South,  were 
not  so  sanguine  over  Van  Buren's  candidacy.  They  doubted 
his  southern  principles,  suspected  the  intimate  relations 
existing  between  Richmond  and  Albany  of  being  fraught  with 
evil,  and  began  to  plan  for  a  southern  convention  that  they 
might  more  effectively  protect  the  rights  and  interests  of 
their  section.  Naturally  Ritchie  oposed  the  proposed  con 
vention  and  tried  to  soothe  his  fellow  southerners  into  a 
feeling  of  security,  but  the  annexed  extract  from  the 
Atlanta  (Ga.)  Chronicle  makes  it  plain  that  he  was  dealing 
with  conditions  and  forces  which  he  did  not  understand: 

"Mr.    Ritchie   and   Old   Virginia   will    not   meet   with   a    Southern 
Convention,  because  Virginia  must  be  a  border   state  in  the  event  of 
a  dissolution  and  because  Mr.  Ritchie  would  lose  the  rewards  he  has 
been  earning  from  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  the  Albany  Regency.     Be  it  so.i 
Let  Virginia  occupy  neutral  ground  then,  or  take  sides  with  the  Nortt 
as   she  may  prefer.     We   shall   lose   some  great   and  good  men    (whc 
might  go  farther  South  and  be  saved) .    Yet,  when  we  get  rid  of  Ritchie 
Stevenson  and  others  of  that  kidney,  we  need  not  count  the  cost,  an< 
we  shall   be   greatly   benefitted   by   having    Virginia  a  slave  state   bt 
tioeen  us  and  the  North  without  being  compelled  to  contribute  to 
defence." 35 

At  this  time  Ritchie  was  doubtless  more  interested  in 
'  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  in  \7irginia  than  in  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  whole  South.  Consumed  by  a 
desire  to  preserve  the  ascendancy  of  the  Mother  of  Common 
wealths  in  a  great  nation  and  never  over  suspicious  of  the 
ulterior  motives  of  men,  he  had  little  sympathy  with  Cal- 
houn's  program  for  a  united  South,  if,  indeed,  he  under 
stood  that  movement.  His  patriotism  was  circumscribed  by 
no  sectional  lines  and  was  as  broad  as  the  legitimate  inter 
ests  and  commendable  ambitions  of  every  American  citizen. 
He  advised  the  united  action  of  the  South  against  the  aboli 
tionists  and  other  disunionists  only  as  a  means  of  preserv- 

34  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  21,  1835;  Ibid.,  August  4,  1835;  Ibid., 
September    18,    1835. 

35  Ibid.,  October  6,  1835.^ 


174  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

ing  the  Union  and  of  maintaining  the  rights  and  interests 
of  all.  He  would  doubtless  have  been  willing  to  conciliate 
and  compromise.  Virginia  had  scarcely  been  rescued  from 
the  clutches  of  the  Whigs,  and  Jackson's  time  for  throwing 
fire-brands,  the  regular  meeting  of  Congress,  was  near  at 
hand.  He  desired  no  repetition  of  the  experiences  which 
had  followed  the  Proclamation  and  the  Protest.  In  a  letter 
to  Van  Buren  he,  therefore,  advised  that  the  annual  mes 
sage  be  written  in  "the  language  of  dignified  moderation."36 
Especially  was  war  with  France  to  be  avoided,  because  war 
would  arrest  the  spirit  of  internal  improvement  then  abroad 
in  the  land,  restore  the  protective  system  and  the  bank, 
and  entrench  the  Whig  party  in  power  both  locally  and 
nationally. 

Contrary  to  expectations  Jackson  showed  moderation  in 
dealing  with  France.  It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  the 
local  conditions  in  Virginia  or  the  desires  of  her  politicians 
to  win  elections  there  influenced  him  in  the  least.  But  as 
much  can  not  be  said  of  Ritchie's  influence,  exercised  as 
it  was  through  Van  Buren,  upon  the  larger  and  more  im 
portant  policies  of  the  administration  as  set  forth  in  the 
message  in  dealing  with  France.  However  that  may  be, 
Ritchie  accepted  the  message  as  a  vindication,  and,  had  the 
press  known  his  part  in  shaping  it,  his  unqualified  praise 
of  that  state  paper  would  doubtless  have  been  accepted  as 
another  evidence  of  his  alleged  monumental  conceit  and 
consuming  vanity.  The  message  was  spoken  of  as  the  most 
"conciliatory,  dignified,  enlightened,  and  noble  paper  which 
has  ever  been  given  to  the  country.7'37 

Triumph  in  national  affairs  was  also  attended  by  a  vindi 
cation  at  home.  The  Assembly,  by  a  vote  of  95  ayes  to  6S1 
noes,  restored  Ritchie  to  the  office  of  public  printer  and  by 
a  vote  almost  equally  large  reinstated  Daniel  in  the  Execu 
tive  Council.  Though  aware  of  a  desire  to  keep  him  from  all 
places  of  influence,  Ritchie  had  furthermore  the  satisfaction 

86  Van  Buren  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  November  28,   1835. 
37  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  12,  17,  1835. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  175 

of  hearing  those  who  had  voted  against  his  re-election  dis 
claim  any  personal  feeling  in  their  efforts  to  secure  a  "prac 
tical  printer.'7  He  now  said  not  a  word  about  political 
proscription,  but  characterized  the  leading  Whigs  as  the  "oily 
orator"  from  Petersburg,  the  "rampant  lawyer"  from  Rich 
mond,  the  "Beliol  delegate"  from  Albemarle,  the  "rumbling 
thunderer"  from  Northampton,  the  "county  court  lawyer" 
from  James  City,  and  the  "bewitching  spoiler"  from  Pittsyl- 
vania  and  defied  the  whole  "mongrel  pack,"  Tray,  Branch, 
Sweetheart,  and  all.38  A  declaration  of  war  upon  Leigh  and  \ 
Tyler,  members  of  the  "aristocratic"  Senate  followed,  and  \ 
was  accompanied  by  a  hearty  approval  of  Benton's  efforts  to 
expunge  from  the  records  of  the  Senate  the  resolutions  of 
censure  against  Jackson  for  the  removal  of  the  deposits.39 
Thus  Ritchie  found  himself  indirectly  approving  the  very 
measures  he  had  formerly  disapproved  and  even  willing  to 
drive  opposition  senators  from  office  that  Jackson  mightbe 
vindicated. 

Although  he  deplored  its  injection  into  both  local  and 
national  politics  abolition  would  not  down.  Even  Virginia 
played  with  the  fire  with  all  the  eagerness  of  childish 
curiosity.  In  his  annual  message  of  December,  1835,  to 
the  Assembly,  Governor  Tazewell  endorsed  the  proposed  plan 
for  concerted  action  among  the  slave-holding  states  against 
abolition  and  requested  that  he  be  authorized  to  communicate 
with  the  non-slave  holding  states  upon  the  subject.  Fol 
lowing  up  his  message  the  Whigs  tried  to  place  the  Assembly 
on  record  as  opposed  to  the  right  of  Congress  to  interfere 
with  negro  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  as  reaffirming 
the  right  of  a  state  to  regulate  and  determine  its  own 
domestic  institutions,  and  as  demanding  the  suppression  of 
all  abolition  societies  by  a  resort  to  punishment  for  those 
who  persisted  in  belonging  to  them.40 

These  new  issues  were  annoying  at  their  best,  but  under 

88  Richmond  Enquirer,   December    12,    1835. 

"IUd.,   December   17,    1835. 

40  IUd.,  January  7,  12,  14,  1836. 


176  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

the  conditions  prevalent  in  1835  and  1836  they  became  posi 
tively  embarrassing.  Ritchie  recognized  in  it  all  an  attempt 
to  injure  Van  Buren's  candidacy  and  not  a  patriotic  effort 
to  serve  the  southern  weal.  But  there  were  Democrats  ever 
ready  to  listen  to  the  Whig  press  and  the  Whig  politicians 
in  their  studied  attempts  to  make  it  appear  that  the  Demo 
cratic  party  was  in  alliance  with  the  abolitionists  and  not 
in  full  sympathy  with  the  best  interests  of  the  South.  It 
took  real  skill  and  masterly  statesmanship  to  tide  the  feeble 
members  of  his  party  over  such  ordeals  as  those  imposed  by 
the  Whigs  in  these  attempts.  Ritchie's  slogan  for  all  such 
exigencies  was  "The  federal  Union,  it  must  be  preserved." 
He  now  insisted  that  Tazewell  was  not  and  never  had  been 
a  friend  of  the  Union  and  that  he  should  not  therefore  be 
entrusted  with  the  care  of  an  explosive  which  might  destroy 
it.41  Like  many  other  loyal  patriots  to  be  found  in  the 
South  at  this  time  and  twenty  years  later  he  did  not  think 
the  election  of  a  northern  man  to  the  presidency  a  sufficient 
cause  for  the  united  action  of  the  slave-holding  states  to 
prevent  such  a  contingency.  Accordingly  he  lent  his  best 
energies  to  the  suppoTt  of  a  less  radical  course  on  the*  part  of 
Ithe  Assembly  than  that  desired  by  the  Whigs.  The  right  of 
^  state  to  regulate  its  domestic  institutions  was  reaffirmed., 
the  non-slave  holding  states  were  simply  requested  to  restrain 
the  activity  of  the  abolitionists,  a.  protest  was  made  against 
the  proposed  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  confidence  in  the  desires  of  the  North  to  deal  justly  with 
the  South  was  expressed.42  True,  Whigs  and  even  Demo 
crats  cried  "subserviency  to  New  York/'  but  they  could  not 
deny  that  Ritchie's  subserviency  contained  a  large  propor 
tion  of  patriotism  and  that  they  themselves  in  their  attacks 
upon  the  abolitionists  were  resorting  to  the  stock  argument 
f  all  minority  parties  in  the  South. 

Another  subject  used  most  effectively  against  the  admin- 
i^stration  party  in  Virginia  and  to  the  great  annoyance  of 

41  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  17,  1835;  Ibid.,  December  29,  31, 
1835. 

^lUd.,  January  21   1836. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  177 

Ritchie  was  that  connected  with  banks  and  banking.  The 
vast  enterprises  being  launched  in  the  western  counties  and 
the  general  quickening  of  industrial  activity  created  a  de 
mand  for  such  credit  as  only  banks  could  extend.  This  came 
at  a  time  when  the  death  throes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  the  efforts  to  reform  the  national  currency,  and  the 
uncertainties  of  the  panic  made  it  almost  impossible  for  the 
state  banks  to  live.  Having  abandoned  the  national  bank, 
as  a  local  party,  the  Whigs  now  suddenly  developed  a  remark 
able  affection  for  the  state  banks,  demanding  an  increase  in 
their  number  and  in  their  capital  stock.  In  addition  to  the 
general  conditions  arguing  in  their  behalf  they  defended 
their  course  as  necessary  to  encourage  internal  improvements 
and  to  prevent  the  threatened  depopulation  of  Virginia  and 
attacked  the  banking  monopoly  of  aKing  Ritchie  and  his 
prime  minister,  Dr.  Brockenbrough."  Despite  Ritchie's 
great  popularity,  as  a  friend  of  the  people  and  the  spokes 
man  of  the  Jacksonian  Democracy,  these  were  taking  argu 
ments  in  the  western  counties.43  / 

As  in  dealing  with  the  subjetft' of  abolition,  Ritchie  dis 
cussed  banks  and  banking  frankly  but  diplomatically,  and 
there  is  every  evidence  that  his  arguments  in  defence  of  the1 
existing  system  were  based  upon  a  sounder  foundation  than 
his  financial  obligations  to  the  banks  of  Richmond.  In  de 
fence  of  his  opposition  to  an  increase  of  the  number  of  the 
independent  banks  he  reviewed  the  early  experiences  of 
Kentucky,  insisted  that  those  Virginians  who  were  leaving 
their  lands  for  the  far  West  where  banks  were  unknown  were 
not  in  search  of  bank  credit,  and  predicted  a  restoration  of 
the  national  bank  in  case  the  states  did  not  act  conservatively 
in  their  banking  operations.  To  offset  the  political  advan 
tages  which  the  Whigs  contemplated  from  their  change  ofj 
attitude  toward  the  local  banks,  he  held  before  the  rural' 
inhabitants,  naturally  inclined  to  favor  the  exclusive  use  of 
hard  money,  the  evils  of  excessive  banking  and  of  a  con 
sequent  restoration  o-f  the  monster.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 

43  Richmond  Enquirer,  December  10,  1835;  Ibid.,  February  23,  1836,- 
Richmond  Whig,  April  22,  1836. 


178  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

Pennsylvania  had  rechartered  the  Bank  of  the  United  States 
and  that  several  states  were  expected  to  charter  branches 
thereto,  he  saw  and  made  others  see  how  Biddle  could  evolve 
another  monopoly  and  bring  the  "whole  confederacy  .  . 
under  bank  government."  If  free  banking  was  permitted  or 
even  an  undue  increase  in  the  number  of  local  banks 
allowed,  he  was  confident  that  these  calamities  would  be 
immediate.  The  common  horror  which  the  inhabitants  of 
the  western  counties  felt  toward  the  national  bank  and  the 
traditional  conservatism  of  the  east  coupled  with  the  fact 
that  a  large  part  of  the  state's  internal  improvement  and 
literary  funds  were  invested  in  bank  stock  enabled  Ritchie 
to  defeat  the  Whigs  at  every  turn,  to  retain  his  own  political 
influence  amid  trying  and  perplexing  conditions,  and  to  main 
tain  Virginia's  record  for  conservative  banking. 

The  time,  energy,  and  skill  necessary  to  keep  the  state 
right  on  abolition  and  banking  did  not  restrain  Eitchie  from 
prosecuting  his  declaration  of  war  upon  Leigh  and  Tyler. 
With  a  majority  of  the  Assembly  at  his  command  he  now 
planned  to  drive  them  from  the  Senate,  as  the  Whigs  had 
driven  Rives,  by  instructing  them  to  vote  for  a  proposition 
which  they  could  not  endorse,  knowing  that  sufficient  pres 
sure  could  be  broughFupon  them  to  compel  obedience.  Ex 
cept  in  1811,  when  Wm.  B.  Giles  had  protested  against  it, 
the  time  honored  right  of  instruction  had  never  been  ques 
tioned  in  the  "sovereign  state  of  Virginia."  Finally  amid 
stirring  scenes  equaled  only  by  those  which  had  attended  the 
actual  expunging  of  the  Senate's  record  or  the  re-election 
of  Leigh  by  the  Virginia  Assembly,  he  and  Tyler  were 
instructed  to  vote  for  Benton's  resolutions.  As  Governor 
Tazewell  refused  to  communicate  the  resolutions  of  instruc 
tion,  talk  of  impeachment  proceedings  followed.  But  Tyler's 
subsequent  resignation  and  Leigh's  refusal  to  follow  his 
course  simplified  conditions  in  two  ways ;  it  gave  the  Demo 
crats  an  opportunity  to  re-elect  Rives  and  a  winning  issue 
with  which  to  go  before  the  people  in  the  contest  which 
was  then  at  hand  for  members  of  Assembly.44 

**  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  5,   1836. 


A  STUDY  iis  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  179 

Thus  the  Virginians  entered  the  preliminary  skirmish 
for  the  presidency,  that  contest  for  members  of  the  Assembly 
which  came  in  the  spring  of  the  presidential  year,  and 
was  as  carefully  watched  as  are  the  political  vanes,  Ver 
mont  and  Maine,  to-day,  with  many  new  and  perplexing 
issues.  But  abolition,  banking,  expunging,  and  the  right 
of  instruction  were  not  allowed  .to  eclipse  the  main  issue, 
the  contest  for  the  presidency./  Already  White  and  Tyler 


had  been  placed  in  nomination  by  a  caucus  of  the  Whig 
members  of  the  Assembly  for  the  presidency  and  the  vice- 
presidency  respectively,  but  the  western  Whigs  desired 
General  Harrison  for  the  first  place  and  preferred  Webster 
or  Calhoun  to  so  recent  an  apostate  as  White.45  This  lack 
of  accord  within  their  party  led  to  a  Whig  state  convention  i 
which  nominated  Harrison  for  the  presidency  and  Tylerl  I 
for  the  vice-presidency  but  accepted  the  electors  committed/  j 
to  the  support  of  Judge  White,  with  the  understanding  thai 
they  should  vote  for  that  one  of  the  two  candidates  who  re4 
ceived  the  largest  popular  vote.  By  such  a  combination  thd 
Whigs  hoped  to  carry  Virginia  and  to  make  it  possible  for 
no  one  to  sacrifice  his  principles  in  supporting  the  "piebald" 
ticket.  \U1  were  urged  to  vote  against  Jthe  abolitionist,  Van 
Buren,  who,  it  was  now  claimed,  desired  social  and  political 
equality  for  all  races.) 

At  first  the  Whig  plan  of  campaign  seemed  formidable, 
but  as  the  contest  advanced  the  "double-headed"  ticket  com 
manded  a  constantly  diminishing  support.  Following  the ' 
example  of  Virginia  Ritchie  expected  the  opposition  at  large 
to  run  Webster  in  New  England,  Harrison  in  the  Middle  and 
Western  states,  and  White  in  the  South,  in  an  effort  to  throw 
the  presidential  election  into  the  House  and  to  effect  the 
possible  elimination  of  Van  Buren  entirely  by  making  the 
three  candidates  to  whom  the  constitution  "restricted  the 
choice  on  such  occasions  all  Whigs.  It  was  all  the  more  im-  \  <~~' 
poxtant  therefore  to  defeat  the  Whig  party  in  Virginia  in  J 

45  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  2,  1836;   Ibid.,  February  13,  1836;    ^ 
Richmond  Whig,  January  1,  1836. 


180  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

its'  efforts  to  control  the  Assembly  and  to  win  a  popular 
majority  of  the  votes  in  the  local  election.  Thus  no  oppor 
tunity  was  lost  to  unite  all  factions  in  support  of  Van  Buren's 
candidacy  which  had  already  been  endorsed  by  the  Demo 
crats  of  Virginia  but  was  now  re-endorsed  by  a  state  conven 
tion  in  which  Win.  C.  Bives  spoke  of  him  as  "the  first  choice 
over  all  others  in  the  Union.7746  In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  Democrats  refused  to  place  Johnson's  name  upon  their 
ticket  for  the  vice-presidency,  the  most  possible  was  made  of 
the  lack  of  accord  within  the  opposition  party.  To  this  end 
Harrison  was  attacked  in  the  eastern  counties  as  an  aboli 
tionist  and  a  friend  of  the  American  System,  while  White 
was  attacked  in  the  western  counties  as  a  JSTullifier  and  a 
seceder. 

Ritchie's  generalship,  General  Jackson's  popularity,  and 
the  disorganized  condition  of  the  Whigs  saved  the  day  to 
the  Democrats,  who  now  carried  the  state  by  a  popular 
majority  aggregating  5,000  and  retained  control  of  the 
Assembly.47  An  end  was  thus  put  to  the  fear  of  possible 
Whig  combinations,  and  Van  Buren's  election  seemed 
J — assured./  Again  members  of  the  Junto  assured  him  that  all 
was  well  in  the  Old  Dominion,  and  the  Whig  press  now 
spoke  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer  as  the  " Albany  Enquirer/' 
/!N"ow  that  the  presidential  contest  seemed  won  in  Vir 
ginia,  Ritchie  and  the  Junto  attempted  to  divert  interest 
""from  those  local  and  national  issues  which  were  perplexing 
them  and  to  keep  Van  Buren  awake  to  his  obligations  to  the 
South  by  launching  a  movement  for  the  annexation  of  Texas/' 
never  dreaming  that  their  efforts  if  successful  would  com 
plicate  the  abolition  question  and  give  rise  to  a  score  of  other 
questions  equally  perplexing.  In  1819,  1829,  and  again  in 
1835  Ritchie  had  cast  longing  eyes  to  the  southwest,  a  small 
part  of  which  he  now  possessed  in  fee  simple.  ISTow  his 
dreams  had  come  true,  and  Texas  was  making  a  noble  fight 
for  her  independence  of  Mexico  and  was  thought  to  be 

46  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  16,  1836. 

47  Ibid.,  May  17,   1836. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  181 

friendly  to  annexation  to  the  United  States.  Accordingly 
when  Santa  Anna  talked  of  arming  the  slaves  of  Louisiana, 
of  planting  his  banners  on  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and 
of  plucking  the  laurels  from  the  brow  of  General  Jackson, 
if  the  Americans  did  not  desist  from  their  attempts  to  dis 
member  his  country  by  aiding  the  Texans,  Ritchie  urged 
that  we  acknowledge  their  independence.  The  daily  re 
minders  from  the  opposition  press  that  his  enthusiasm  for 
Texas  was  not  wholly  disinterested  went  unheeded.48  He 
had  long  regarded  Van  Buren  as  friendly  to  annexation,  but 
he  did  not  know  to  what  extent  he  would  carry  his  friend 
ship  when  placed  in  a  position  of  responsibility  and  faced 
by  a  growing  abolitionist  sentiment.  Accordingly,  Ritchie 
now  informed  him  of  their  previous  understandings,  though 
thinking  it  impossible  that  he  could  have  changed  his  mind 
and  assuring  him  that  the  South  counted  upon  him  ato  carry 
the  measure  against  the  prejudices  of  the  Northern  opposi- 
toin."  He  was  not  certain  how  the  measure  was  to  be 
brought  about,  "whether  by  waiting  the  overtures  of  Texas 
or  Mexico1 — or,  by  initiating  the  proposition — whether  by 
recognizing  the  independence  first,  or  smoothing  the  way  to 
the  affiliation  in  the  first  instance — whether  now  or  at  the 
next  session — whether  by  admitting  Texas  in  the  chrysalis 
from  a  territory  or  immediately  as  one  of  the  sovereign  states 
of  the  Union — whether  as  one  state,  or  as  one  subject  to  the 
qualification  of  making  Tier  into  several,  as  they  obtain  the 
necessary  population."  He  was  willing  to  leave  these  and 
"various  other  questions"  to  Mr.  Van  Buren's  "long  head," 
but  he  ventured  the  suggestion  that  no  more  than  three 
states  be  made  out  of  Texas,  lest  the  North  prevent  its 
annexation.49 

Fearing  that  agitation  of  this  subject  would  not  enhance 
his  chances  to  reach  the  presidency  Van  Buren  followed  the 
advice  of  Jackson  and  of  Ritchie's  close  friend,  Judge 
Parker,  and  carefully  refrained  from  any  expressions  regard- 

48  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  30,  1835;  Ibid.,  May  13,  24,  1836. 
"Fan  Buren  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  June  9,  1836. 


182  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

ing  Texas.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  answered  either 
directly  or  indirectly  Ritchie's  letter  and  suggestions.  Had 
he  now  taken  a  stand,  his  course  eight  years  hence  might  have 
been  greatly  simplified  and  the  possibility  of  an  abrupt 
breach  between  himself  and  his  friends  in  Virginia  might 
have  been  obviated. 

Meanwhile  the  federal  treasury  had  become  embarrassed 
by  the  almost  unprecedented  experience  of  having  more 
money  than  it  could  spend.  The  proceeds  from  the  public 
and  sales,  which  were  enormous  at  this  period  of  expansion, 
and  the  revenue  from  customs  had  extinguished  the  public 
debt  and  was  piling  up  a  vast  surplus.  If  the  Compromise 
Tariff  was  to  be  maintained  and  if  settlers  were  to  be  given 
access  to  the  public  domain  at  any  reasonable  price,  the 
causes  which  were  producing  these  conditions  could  not  be 
disturbed.  /N evertheless,  some  would  have  lowered  the  tariff 
regardless  of  the  Compromise,  and  others  would  have  low 
ered  the  price  of  the  public  lands  or  have  given  them  to  the 
states  in  which  they  were  located.  (TBut  the  desire  to  keep 
faith  between  the  sections  regarding  the  tariff  and  to  con 
serve  the  nation's  resources  by  restricting  the  public  land 
sales  and  appropriating  the  benefits  of  the  common  territory 
to  all  prevailed,  and  on  June  23,  1836,  Congress  passed  an 
act  distributing  the  surplus  proceeds  of  the  land  sales  among 
the  several  ^states  in  proportion  to  their  representation  in 
that  body.  ,  The  pill  needed  a  little  coating  before  Jackson 
could  swallow  it,  and  the  distributions  were  therefore  made 
in  the  form  of  loans,  but  with  the  understanding  that  they 
were  never  to  be  returned. 

Dr.  Brockenbrough's  interest  in  retaining  the  federal 
deposits  in  his  bank  at  Richmond  was  not  the  only  nor 
indeed  the  chief  reason  for  Ritchie's  opposition  to  the  dis 
tribution  act.  He  saw  in  that  measure  a  tariff  bill  in  dis 
guise  and  the  final  destruction  of  the  sovereignty  and  respect 
ability  of  the  states  in  a  mad  scramble  for  the  flesh  pots  of 
Egypt.  Instead  he  would  have  used  the  surplus  already 
existing  to  provide  an  adequate  defence,  to  exterminate  the 
Indian  titles  to  the  public  domain,  and  to  secure  the  annexa- 


A  STUDY  i^  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  183 

tion  of  Texas.  He  would  have  prevented  the^  further 
accumulation  of  surpluses  by  reducing  the  tariff.  /"Piqued  at 
Jackson's  refusal  to  veto  the  bill  and  elated  with  Van  Buren's 
bold  declaration  against  it,  he  now  proclaimed  the  latter 
the  rejd  and  not  the  nominal  leader  of  the  Democracy. 5°/ 

The  flurry  over  Texas  and  the  agitation  over  the  surplus 
diverted  attention  only  temporarily  from  the  contest  for 
the  presidency.  In  Virginia  the  rival  parties  continued  to 
vie  with  each  other  in  picturing  the  abolition  records  of  the 
opposing  chieftains.  The  rapid  strides  made  by  Harrison's 
candidacy  in  the  western  counties  created  alarm  in  the  Demo- 
rcatic  camp,  but  Ritchie  never  let  pass  an  opportunity  for 
picturing  the  calamities  which  might  result  from  an  election 
by  the  House.  The  danger  narrowly  averted  in  1&01  and  the 
experiences  of  1825  were  drawn  upon  constantly.  It  was 
not  known  how  many  Whigs  would  stick  to  the  declining 
fortunes  of  Judge  White,  and,  therefore,  the  "double-headed 
Janus-faced  mongrel  ticket"  worried  Ritchie  no  little.  On 
September  20th  Judge  Parker  wrote  to  Van  Buren  that 
"nothing  could  draw  him  (Ritchie)  away  from  his  press  at 
this  critical  juncture."51  Nevertheless,  he  was  never  more 
resourceful.  From  picturing  Van  Buren  as  a  strict  con- 
structionist  he  turned  to  praising  the  "Tenth  Legion"52  and 
deploring  the  election  of  a  Nullifier  and  a  seceder  like  White. 
From  a  denunciation  of  Harrison's  'abolition  record  he  turned 
to  a  defence  of  Van  Buren's  free  negro  vote  and  his  part  in 
the  Missouri  Compromise.53 

Though  now  prominently  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  governorship,  Ritchie  announced  the  results  of  the  Demo 
cratic  victory  in  Virginia,  which  had  greatly  enhanced  his 
own  prestige,  with  characteristic  modesty.  The  chief 
recipient  of  its  benefits  was  not,  however,  unmindful  of  the 

5»  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  21,  28,  1836;  Ibid.,  August  23,  1836. 

61  Van  Buren  MSS. 

54The  Tenth  Legion  was  the  name  applied  to  the  Democratic  strong- 
hold'of  the  Valley. 

53  Richmond  Whig,  August  12,  1836;  Richmond  Enquirer,  Novem 
ber  4,  1836. 


184  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

one  who  had  done  most  to  make  it  possible,  as  the  annexed 
extract  of  a  letter  from  Van  Buren  to  Ritchie  indicates: 
"There  is,  I  assure  you  with  great  sincerity,  no  man  in  the 
country  in  whose  patriotism,  political  intelligence  and  per 
sonal  integrity  I  have  more  confidence.  I  know  I  have 
not  a  better  friend  in  the  world  and  be  assured  that  your 
suggestions  will  always  be  duly  considered."54  As  he  re 
viewed  Jackson's  administration  by  which  he  proposed  to 
to  shape  his  own,  it  was  plain  that  questions  might  arise  upon 
which  he  and  the  Virginia  editor  could  not  agree,  but  he 
was  certain  that  their  general  objects  would  always  be  the 
•same. 

Virginia  readily  acquiesced  in  the  election  of  Van  Buren, 
but  the  prospective  election  of  Johnson  to  the  vice-presi 
dency  by  the  federal  Senate  was  a  bitter  pill  which  was  not 
swallowed  readily.  Rather  than  submit  some  were  willing 
to  apply  the  knife  as  the  only  remedy  for  the  disease  with 
which  the  spoilsmen  and  the  abolitionists  had  infected  the 
body  politic.  Their  opposition  went  further  than  their 
friendship  for  Rives;  it  was  founded  in  enmity  for  the 
American  System  and  the  rumors  about  the  dusky  origin  of 
Johnson's  wife.  The  Whig  press  contained  many  rhymes  on 
"Johnson's  Wife  of  Old  Kentucky,"  and  a  laurel  crown  was 
given  by  "the  Chaste  Southern  Dames"  to  the  author  of  one 
of  these  doggerels.55  Virginia's  electors  had  been  selected 
to  vote  for  Wm.  Smith  of  Alabama  for  the  vice-presidency, 
but  it  was  now  proposed  that  they  cast  their  vote  for  Tyler, 
the  Whig  candidtae,  to  keep  the  election  from  the  Senate 
and  to  accomplish  the  defeat  of  Johnson.56 

Although  he  did  not  attempt  to  defend  his  record  or  his 
character,  Ritchie  regarded  the  assaults  upon  Johnson  as 
attacks  upon  the  Union  and  as  so  many  unnecessary  and  use 
less  attempts  to  inflame  the  anti-abolition  sentiment  at  the 
South.  He  classed  the  "madmen"  who  made  them  with  those 

84  Richmond  Whig,  November  4,  1836;  Van  Buren  MSS. 
ss  Richmond  Whig,  December  2,  1836. 
™IUd.,  November  25,  1836. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  185    • 

pessimists  who  predicted  the  downfall  of  our  glorious  experi 
ment  in  government,  but  assured  them  that  aThere  is  an 
attachment  to  the  Union  among  the  people  of  this  country 
so  strong  that  it  will  baffle  all  the  parricidal  attempts  of  such 
infuriated  incendiaries.77  This  attitude  was  wholly  sincere? 
and  sprang  from  a  love  for  the  Union  of  the  fathers  and  not 
from  a  desire  to  preserve  accord  within  the  Democratic 
party.  It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  the  electors  of  Vir 
ginia  kept  faith  by  casting  their  vote  for  Wm.  Smith  for  the 
vice-presidency. 

The  election  of  Van  Buren,  following  as  it  did  two  bril-  1 
Kant  victories  for  members  of  the  Assembly,  marked  the  1 
period  of  Ritchie's  greatest  power.  With  his  incessant  war  for 
principles  he  was  not,  however,  a  practical  politician.  Thus 
he  did  not  always  make  the  best  use  of  his  political  victories 
or  aid  others  in  using  them  to  the  best  advantage.  In  a  sort 
of  ultimatum  he  now  advised  the  Assembly  regarding  the 
use  of  the  federal  surplus,  regarding  appropriations  for 
internal  improvements,  and  the  state  banks.57  By  aid  of  the 
party  caucus  he  was  re-elected  public  printer,  his  friend, 
David  Campbell,  was  made  Governor,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Judge  Richard  E.  Parker,  took  Leigh's  place  in  the  federal 
Senate  to  be  succeeded  in  a  few  weeks,  after  he  had  found 
a  place  better  suited  *  to  his  tastes  and  abilities,  by  Ritchie's 
cousin,  Wm.  H.  Roane.58  He  did  not  hesitate  to  advise 
Van  Buren  in  the  formation  of  his  cabinet,  or  Jackson 
regarding  the  proper  way  in  which  to  close  his  brilliant 
administration.59  It  is  thus  not  strange  that  he  was  called  an 
autocrat  and  that  the  Richmond  Whig  spoke  of  him  as  a  self- 
constituted  politician  who  bestowed  offices  of  honor  and 
dignity  as  a  reward  for  relatives  and  partisans.60  But  the 
Whig  did  not  consider  that  Ritchie  had  played  a  prominent 
part  in  bringing  about  the  tariff  compromise,  the  destruction 

"Richmond  Enquirer,  December  24,  1836. 
*8IUd.}  December  13,  15,  17,  1836;  IUd.,  January  6,   1837. 
58  Van    Buren    MSS.      Parker    to    Van    Buren,    February    7,    1837; 
Rives  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Rives,   February  25,   1837. 
w  Richmond  Whig,  December  6,   1836. 


186  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

of  the  national  bank,  the  suppression  of  the  nullifiers,  and 
the  election  of  Van  Buren,  and  that  he  could  stand  in  the 
federal  Capitol  to  see  the  new  President  take  the  oath  of 
office  and  shake  hands  with  the  potentates  who  took  part  on 
that  occasion  with  some  feeling  of  personal  triumph  and  that 
he  could  dictate  to  the  local  Assembly  and  even  to  the  powers 
higher  up  with  some  claim  to  authority,  if  not  to  the  finer 
qualities  of  a  politician  and  a  statesman. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  187 

CHAPTER  VII. 

VAN  BUREN  AND  THE  INDEPENDENT  TREASURY. 

Through  the  calm  which  surrounded  Van  Buren' s  inau 
gural  ceremonies  the  evidences  of  political  discord  were  ap 
parent  even  to  the  casual  observer.  The  clashing  ambitions 
of  W.  0.  Rives  and  N".  P.  Tallmadge  on  one  side,  and  Thomas 
H.  Benton,  whom  Jackson  had  placed  second  in  the  line  of 
succession,  on  the  other,  were  making  for  an  irreparable 
schism  in  tHe  Democratic  party.  The  former  leaders  sought 
to  win  by  merit  the  popular  favor  which  Benton  hoped  to  in 
herit.  By  overwhelming  majorities  they  had  already  suc 
ceeded  in  committing  Congress  against  Jackson's  famous 
specie  circular  requiring  all  payments  for  public  lands  to  be 
made  in  specie,  and  they  had  also  induced  Congress  to  claim 
its  alleged  constitutional  right  to  be  the  custodian  of  all 
federal  moneys.  Encouraged  by  these  successes,  they  were 
furthermore  resolved  to  make  Van  Buren  abandon  the  specie 
circular  which  Jackson  had  continued  in  operation  by  a  bold 
use  of  the  pocket  veto.  As  the  author  of  that  state  paper, 
the  leader  of  a  large  party  opposed  to  banks  of  whatsoever 
description,  and  as  the  friend  of  Jackson  and  the  spokesman 
of  Van  Buren,  Benton,  now  called  "Old  Bullion/'  was  a 
formidable  barrier  to  their  ambitions.  As  early  as  January, 
1837,  the  Whig  press  had  gleefully  noted  the  personal  char 
acter  of  the  contest.1 

The  conditions  at  the  beginning  of  Van  Buren's  adminis 
tration  were  well  portrayed  by  Ritchie  in  one  of  his  "strictly 
confidential"  letters  written  this  time  to  Benj.  F.  Butler, 
Attorney  General,  under  the  new  administration.  To  inquir 
ing  parties  desiring  to  invest  capital  in  America,  Andrew 
Stevenson,  Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  had  expressed 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  6,   10,   17,  1837. 


188  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

the  belief  that  the  national  bank,  upon  which  Jackson  had 
made  a  war  to  be  continued  by  his  successor,  would  not  be 
put  down.  His  indiscretion  became  known  in  America  and 
was  interpreted  by  the  Globe,  in  a  caustic  editorial,  as  evi 
dence  of  a  disposition  to  repudiate  Van  Buren  and  Jackson, 
and  of  a  possible  alliance  with  those  opposed  to  Benton  and 
friendly  to  Rives  and  Tallmadge.  Ritchie's  letter  was  a  de 
fence  of  Stevenson,  and  because  of  its  thorough  and  able  pre 
sentation  of  the  whole  situation  is  here  given  in  full  as 
follows : 

"TUESDAY,   MORNING. 
"My  Dear  Sir: 

"I  have  been  prostrated  two  days  on  the  bed  of  sickness,  and 
though  I  am  rapidly  recovering,  I  am  compelled  to  pillow  up  my  head, 
for  the  purpose  of  addressing  you  on  a  subject  which  deeply  interests 
me.  Perhaps  I  am  going  too  far.  Perhaps,  I  may  be  taking  a  liberty 
which  our  short  acquaintance  may  not  seem  to  justify.  Perhaps,  I 
am  too  boldly  breaking  through  that  state  and  dignity,  that  hedge  in 
men  of  affairs.  But,  when  I  recollect  the  simplicity  of  character  which 
best  adorns  a  man, — when  I  recall  to  mind  the  cordial  terms  you  used 
towards  me,  at  the  last  night  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  I  feel 
irresistibly  impelled  to  address  you  upon  a  subject,  which  interests 
me  as  a  friend  and  as  a  patriot. 

" Without  further  circumlocution,  then,  I  call  your  attention  to 
the  editorial  article  which  appeared  in  the  Globe,  containing  some 
severe  criticism  on  the  conduct  of  Andrew  Stevenson.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  tell  you  how  much  pain  it  has  given  many  of  his  and  the 
President's  friends.  May  I  frankly  inquire  of  you,  whether  it  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  true  exponent  of  the  President's  feelings  and  sentiments? 
I  well  know  the  solicitude  which  this  article  will  occasion  in  the 
breast  of  Mr.  Stevenson,  not  only  on  account  of  the  character  of  these 
strictures,  but  from  the  source  from  which  they  emanate,  the  official 
organ  of  the  government.  You  will  readily  imagine,  Sir,  how  very 
unpleasant  must  be  his  situation,  until  he  shall  be  apprised  of  the 
President's  feeling  on  this  subject.  You  can  well  conceive,  too,  that  if 
he  shall  ascertain  the  article  in  question  to  have  received  the  Presi 
dent's  sanction,  he  might  feel  himself  constrained  to  resign  his  com 
mission  and  return  home.  I  feel  solicitous  that  Mr.  Stevenson  and 
his  friends  should  be  put  at  ease  on  this  subject,  if,  indeed,  I  am  right 
in  the  conjecture  that  Mr.  Blair,  without  consulting  his  official  friends, 
has  only  given  expressions  to  his  own  views,  stimulated  as  they  no 
doubt  have  been  by  the  conduct  of  the  agents  of  the  Bank,  as  well  as 
the  insidious  comments  of  the  Press  on  Mr.  Stevenson's  London  letter. 

''May  I  call  your  attention  to  the  few  remarks  I  made  in  the 
last  Enquirer,  on  the  article  in  the  Globe?  They  were  written,  Srir,  I 
am  free  to  confess  to  you,  under  some  little  embarrassment.  While  I 
thought  on  one  hand,  that  Mr.  S,  did  not  deserve  the  severe  strictures 
he  had  received,  even  admitting  that  he  may  not  have  sufficiently- 
weighed  the  phraseology  of  his  letter, — I  could  not  on  the  other  hand, 
lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  pressing  the  harmony  of  our  party,  and 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  189 

of  maintaining  an  unbroken  front  towards  our  opponents,  who  are 
ready  to  make  the  most  of  every  division  in  our  ranks,  and  indeed  of 
every  thing  which  may  avail  in  the  opposition  which  they  seem  deter 
mined  to  wage  against  the  Administraton.  I  feel  constrained  too,  by 
those  personal  sentiments  I  entertain  towards  Mr.  Blair,  by  the  recol 
lection  of  that  cordial  and  confiding  kindness,  wrhich  he  had  so  freely 
poured  out  to  me,  on  my  last  visit  to  Washington.  Of  all  the  the 
articles  I  had  ever  seen  in  a  newspaper,  I  confess  to  you,  the  article 
in  the  Globe  had  given  me  the  most  poignant  concern.  I  liked  Mr. 
Blair,  sincerely,  ardently.  You  can  then  very  readily  conceive  under 
what  feelings  I  penned  my  brief  comments  on  this  severe  stricture. 
But,  Sir,  I  think  myself  bound  to  tell  you,  that  the  Republicans 
in  this  quarter  of  Virginia  will  not  sustain  the  course  which  the 
Globe  has  sustained  towards  Mr.  Stevenson.  His  sentiments  in  regard 
to  the  Bank,  the  persecution  he  has  received  from  the  opposition,  and 
his  feelings  towards  Mr.  Van  Buren,  both  politically  and  personally, 
and  let  me  add,  Sir  (because  it  is  a  fact  which  fell  within  my  own 
knowledge),  the  memorable  efforts  which  he  made  to  sustain  Mr.  Van 
Buren  in  the  days  of  his  trial  or  persecution,  and  while  others  were 
shrinking  from  the  storm,  his  coming  forward,  and  being  one  of  the 
most  active  and  determined  men  to  press  the  rejected  minister  for  the 
Pesidency, — these  and  other  circumstances  are  too  well  known,  to 
permit  his  friends  in  Virginia  to  view  with  indifference  any  attempt 
to  strike  him  down !  I  will  not  cavil  with  you,  Sir,  about  the  amount 
of  Mr.  S.'s  indiscretion.  I  will  not  deny,  if  you  please,  that  he  might 
have  written  rather  a  more  prudent  letter;  because  we  now  see  that 
the  one  he  has  written  is  susceptible  of  some  misconstruction.  I  will 
not  say,  whether  taking  even  the  worst  view  of  the  matter,  Mr.  S*. 
ought  or  ought  not  to  have  spoken  a  syllable  about  the  Bank,  and 
whether  if  asked  at  all  in  the  frankest  spirit  by  any  gentleman  who 
was  preparing  to  withdraw  his  funds  from  America,  he  ought  not  to 
have  said,  that  he  did  think  the  Bank  would  not  be  put  down,  an 
opinion  which  seems  to  be  countenanced  by  the  report  of  the  Republican 
Committee  of  Pennsylvania. 

"Admit,  then,  that  the  private  letter  from  London  is  correct; 
which  I  am  prepared  to  deny  in  all  its  extent, — admit  that  Mr. 
Stevenson  has  been  guilty  of  some  indiscretion,  yet  does  it  therefore 
follow  that  he  was  at  once  to  be  put  under  the  ban — that  there  was  no 
other  mode  of  correcting  the  error? 

"I  have  no  question  that  his  own  letter,  which  is  the  only 
authentic  testimony  we  have  before  us,  has  been  misconstrued.  It  is 
perfectly  obvious,  at  least  to  me,  that  Mr.  S'.  was  not  aware  at  the 
time  he  wrote  it  of  the  construction  that  would  be  placed  upon  it, 
both  as  regards  Mr.  Rush,  for  whom  I  know  he  entertains  the  kindest 
feelings;  or  the  sentiments  expressed  in  Mr.  Van  Buren's  letter  to  Mr. 
Williams,  which  no  man  more  cordially  approved.  I  attribute  the 
whole  style  and  phraseology  of  the  letter,  to  the  indignation  he  felt 
at  the  article  in  the  Commercial  Advertiser,  and  not  as  the  Globe 
supposes,  to  any  disposition  to  repudiate  either  Mr.  Van  Buren's  or 
Mr.  Rush's  opinions  in  relation  to  the  Bank. 

"On  this  subject  you  have  no  doubt  formed  your  own  opinion. 
And  you  will  pardon  me,  I  trust,  for  the  liberty  I  take  in  advising 
you  at  all  upon  the  subject.  My  own  course  on  this  occasion  pro 
ceeds  not  only  from  my  regard  for  Mr.  Stevenson,  but  from  the  great 
interest  of  my  party.  My  feelings  for  him  are  certainly  very  warm, 
both  as  a  public  and  private  man,  and  I  feel  the  strongest  desire  that 


190  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

he  should  not  suffer  in  the  public  estimation.  But  I  am  equally 
solicitous  for  the  union  and  harmony  of  the  Republican  Press,  and 
for  whatever  course  may  be  most  likely  to  promote  the  success  and 
prosperity  of  the  administration.  I  am  but  poorly  read  in  the  signs  of 
the  Heavens,  if  a  lowering  storm  is  not  coming  on,  which  may  require 
all  our  strength  and  discretion.  Our  Currency  is  in  a  most  distracted 
condition.  The  spirit  of  speculation  has  involved  the  community  in 
danger  and  embarrassment.  Thousands  will  fall  victims  to  circum 
stances,  of  which  they  had  no  presentiment,  and  over  which  they  could 
exercise  no  control.  The  picture  of  the  distress  in  this  City  is  already 
most  appalling.  The  strongest  houses,  as  they  were  supposed,  are 
bowing  beneath  the  tempest.  The  Hermans  of  N.  Orleans,  the  Josephs 
of  New  York,  the  Philips  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Warwicks  of 
London  have  prostrated  several  of  our  capitalists,  and  our  new  Bank 
Bills,  admirable  as  they  are  in  many  respects,  by  abolishing  the  small 
notes  and  requiring  3/5  of  their  Capital  to  be  preserved  in  gold  and 
silver,  are  yet  calculated  to  add  to  the  distress  of  our  existing  banks. 
The  Treasury  Circular  has  disturbed  the  equilibrium  of  circulation, 
and  by  unnecessarily  accumulating  the  specie  in  the  Western  States, 
will  prevent  us  from  eking  out  the  capital  of  the  new  Banks  except  by 
heavy  drafts  on  the  old.  Instead  then  of  extending  accommodation, 
the  Banks  will  be  compelled  to  curtail  their  Customers.  In  such  a 
state  of  the  elements  the  clamor  is  always  directed  to  the  government. 
The  opposition,  of  course,  have  seized  upon  the  Treasury  Circular. 
Some  of  the  friends  of  the  Administration  who  believe  it  to  have  been 
a  wholesome  measure,  originally,  have  changed  their  view.  They 
contend  a  change  of  circumstances  demands  a  change  of  policy,  that, 
as  Mr.  Burke  said  'circumstances  are  infinite — and  infinitely  com 
bined,  are  variable  and  transient;  that  he  who  does  not  take  them  info 
consideration,  is  not  erroneous,  but  stark  mad,  he  is,  metaphysically 
mad;  that  a  statesman  never  losing  sight  of  his  principles,  is  to  be 
guided  by  circumstances  and  judging  contrary  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
moment,  he  may  ruin  his  country  forever.'  Some  of  his  friends  also 
maintain  that  whatever  respect  might  at  first  have  been  due  to  the 
Circular  of  General  Jackson,  yet  a  decided  voice  of  both  houses  had 
condemned  its  continuation,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
to  consider  not  so  much  what  had  been  done  by  his  predecessor,  as 
what  would  promote  the  good  of  the  country. 

"In  a  word,  Sir,  it  cannot  be  concealed  that  the  time  is  not  far 
distant,  when  from  the  confusion  and  turbidness  of  the  elements,  we 
will  require  all  our  sincere  friends  to  support  us  against  the  common 
enemy.  Union  and  not  discord  must  become  our  watchword.  If  within 
three  weeks  from  the  commencement  of  the  Administration,  we  have  the 
signs  of  two  important  dissensions  in  our  ranks; — if  in  addition  of 
the  contre  temps  of  Mr.  Forsyth,  we  are  to  have  such  men  as  Stevenson 
struck  down  and  sacrificed,  men  who  like  him  have  hazarded  every 
thing  for  our  cause,  who  have  suffered  so  severely  from  our  opponents, 
and  whose  interests  and  feelings  are  so  naturally  and  deeply  enlisted 
in  the  success  of  the  present  Republican  Administration — what  I  frankly 
ask  you,  are  we  next  to  expect?  The  President's  path  may  be  strewn 
with  roses,  but  it  will  also  have  thorns  enough. 

"My  intercourse  with  Mr.  Van  Buren  has  been  so  cordial  and  con 
fiding  for  ten  years  past, — my  confidence  in  his  good  sense  and 
magnanimity,  so  strong,  that  I  am  sure  he  will  excuse  me  for  asking 
you  unreservedly  to  submit  this  hasty  letter  to  his  inspection.  I 
beg  you  to  consider  it  in  every  other  respect  as  strictly  confidential. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  191 

You  will  best  judge  what  ought  to  be  done.  I  do  not  not  ask  for  any 
thing  to  appear  in  the  Globe  on  this  subject.  Far  from  it.  I  do  not 
even  ask  the  privilege  of  putting  a  line  in  the  Enquirer.  My  respect 
for  Mr.  Blair  forbids  that  course.  All  I  wish  is,  to  put  myself  at 
ease  about  the  matter,  and  the  immediate  friends  of  Mr.  Stevenson; 
and  to  put  him  also  at  ease.  But  I  will  consult  your  own  wishes 
rather  than  mine.  In  a  word  then,  let  me  assure  you,  that  whatever 
information  you  may  give  me  shall  be  considered  strictly  confidential, 
and  that  no  use  will  be  made  of  your  reply,  except  so  far  as  may  be 
expressly  allowed  by  yourself.  Fear  not,  Sir,  that  I  will  trouble 
you  in  this  way  again.  I  am  too  well  aware  of  the  drafts  made  upon 
your  precious  time,  as  well  as  too  sensible  of  the  reserve  which  it 
becomes  me  to  observe  towards  yourself  to  think  of  repeating  this 
transgression,  but  on  the  most  urgent  occasion. 

"If  I  could  be  vain  enough  to  hope  that  Mrs.  B.  retains  any  recol 
lection  of  the  eccentric  Virginian  whom  she  met  for  the  first  time  in 
the  East  Room  on  the  4th  of  March,  I  would  add  my  best  wishes  for 
her,  as  well  as  those  for  yourself,  fromj2 

"Yours   truly, 

THOMAS  RITCHIE." 

It  is  evident  that  Ritchie  contemplated  more  in  this  letter 
than  a  mere  vindication  of  his  friend  Stevenson.     At  the\ 
point  of  a  threat  he  was  fighting  for  the  state  banks  and  for  I 
a  continuation  of  the  credit  system,  each  of  which  was  en-  1 
dangered  by  the  specie  circular  and  the  new  banks  which  had  1 
sprung  up  in  the  West.    In  a  few  well  regulated  state  banks,   I 
such  as  the  Bank  of  Virginia,  of  which  his  cousin,  Dr.  Brock- 
enbrough,  had  been  president  for  twenty-five  years,  he  saw    \ 
the  only  possible  means  of  continuing  the  credit  system  by    J 
the  use  of  bank  notes  and  the  only  alternative  to  a  national 
bank.     Besides,  Virginia  was  wedded  to  the  old  order  of 
things,  having  invested  her  literary  and  internal  improve 
ment  funds  in  state  bank  stock  and  agreed  to  accept  bank 
notes  in  payment  of  taxes.3    In  opposing  the  proposed  return 
to  an  exclusive  use  of  metallic  money,  Ritchie  stood  by  Vir 
ginia,  but  in  so  doing  he  was  forced  into  the  conservative 
following  which  was  now  rapidly  crystalizing  about  W.  C. 
Rives  in  Virginia  and  N.  P.  Tallmadge  in  New  York. 

On  the  other  hand  Benton  and  his  policies  were  popular 
in  Virginia.  Disgusted  because  of  the  monopoly  enjoyed  by 

2  Van  Buren  M88. 

8  Ibid.,  P.  V.  Daniel  to  Van  Buren,  October  20,  1838. 


192  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

the  Richmond  bankers  and  accustomed  to  the  use  of  hard 
money  only,  the  rural  population  accepted  what  "Old  Bul 
lion"  said  as  gospel.  They  were  ably  led  by  James  Mc 
Dowell  of  Rockbridge  and  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph  of 
Albemarle  county.  McDowell's  connection  with  Benton, 
being  his  brother-in-law,  and  Randolph's  commendable  efforts 
to  prevent  Rives  from  appropriating  to  himself  the  political 
legacies  of  Madison  and  Jefferson,  gave  prestige  to  their 
leadership. 

Van  Buren  had  scarcely  entered  the  White  House  before 
the  contest,  already  noticeable  in  national  affairs,  was  on  in 
Virginia.  All  realized  that  it  involved  the  presidential  suc 
cession,  and  the  hope  of  having  Rives  displace  Benton  in  the 
popular  favor  aroused  local  pride  and  added  spice  to  the  con 
test.  Many  were  now  willing  to  accept  Rives  at  his  own 
estimate  as  the  logical  successor  of  Jefferson  and  Madison, 
d  as  the  one  man  who  could  restore  the  prestige  of  Vir- 
iginia.  The  ambitions  and  interests  of  each  faction  were 
plainly  evident  in  the  elections  of  April,  1837,  for  members 
,of  the  General  Assembly  and  of  Congress.4 

Standing  aloof  and  eager  to  profit  by  the  results  of 
faction  was  a  vigilant  and,  since  the  election  of  Van  Buren 
and  the  financial  panic  which  followed,  growing  opposition. 
This  opposition  was  ably  directed  by  John  Hampden  Pleas- 
ants  of  the  Richmond  Whig,  who  lost  no  opportunity  to  sow 
seeds  of  discord  in  the  ranks  of  the  administration.  By  con 
stantly  referring  to  Benton  as  "the  Great  Expunger"  and  to 
Rives  as  the  "Little  Expunger"  and  by  creating  anxiety  as 
to  which  of  the  two  the  "Little  Magician"  would  ultimately 
favor,  he  wounded  the  pride  of  the  latter  and  drove  deeper 
the  wedge  of  discord.5  When  Jackson  had  used  the  pocket 
veto  for  the  resolutions  suspending  the  specie  circular  order 
of  1836,  Pleasants  had  cried  conspiracy  and  tried  to  give  the 
impression  that  Rives  would  never  be  permitted  to  aspire  to 

4  Richmond  Whig.    April  21,  1837;   Richmond  Enquirer,  April   11, 
1837. 

5  Richmond  Whig,  February  23,  1837;  IUd.,  March  3,  1837. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  193 

the  presidency.  But  when  it  seemed  that  the  breach  in  the 
Democratic  party  was  irreparable,  he  suddenly  ceased  to  find 
fault  with  the  "Little  Expunger"  and  actually  vied  with  him 
in  professions  of  friendship  for  the  state  banks  and  in  con 
demnation  of  the  panic  producing  qualities  of  the  specie 
circular.6 

The  financial  alarm  and  distress  which  enveloped  the 
country  during  the  months  of  April  and  May,  1837,  were 
seized  upon  by  Ritchie  as  forceful  means  of  inducing  Van 
Buren  to  rescind  the  specie  circular.  To  this  end  Rives  was 
given  a  conspicuous  place  as  the  spokesman  of  the  people  in 
his  congressional  fight  against  that  measure.7  Meanwhile 
Dr.  Brockenbrough,  president  of  the  Bank  of  Virginia,  made 
flying  trips  to  Washington  ;8  Ritchie  pictured  the  dire  calam 
ities  which  would  befall  the  country  in  case  the  credit  system 
were  abandoned;  and  Rives  reminded  the  President  through 
the  correspondence  which  they  maintained  and  the  agency 
of  friends,  that  he  could  not  defy  the  people  by  adhering  to 
the  specie  circular.9  It  was  all  to  no  purpose;  Van  Buren 
remained  non-committal  and  doubtless  determined. 

Unlike  Rives,  Ritchie  was  unwilling  to  force  Van  Buren's 
action  in  regard  to  the  specie  circular.  Next  to  his  love  and 
ambition  for  Virginia  was  his  love  for  the  Democratic  party, 
which  was  now  in  danger.  Then,  too,  he  did  not,  like  others 
opposed  to  the  specie  circular,  attribute  all  the  financial  ills 
of  1837  to  it.  Wiser  councils  had  prevailed,  and  from  his 
friend,  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  he  had  learned  that  "the  panic" 
was  due  mainly  to  over  banking,  wild  speculation,  and  un 
wise  uses  of  the  federal  moneys.10  His  confidence  in  the 
state  banks  had  also  been  shaken  by  their  suspension  of  specie 
payment  and  their  apparent  unwillingness  to  resume  it.  Such 
institutions  were  plainly  unsuited  for  federal  depositories 

'Richmond  Whig,  March  7,   1837;    Ibid.,  April  4,  21,   1837. 

7  IUd.}  March  28,  1837. 

8  Stevenson  MSS.     Ritchie  to  Stevenson,  April  20,  1837. 

9  Van  Buren  M88. 

10  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  21,   1837;   Ibid.,  May  16,  1837. 


194  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

and  unsound  bases  for  the  state's  credit  at  a  time  when 
credit  was  most  needed  for  the  construction  of  works  of  in 
ternal  improvement.  Precipitate  action  might  also  result  in 
a  political  triumph  for  the  Whigs  and  the  consequent  resto 
ration  of  "the  monster."  Besides,  Congress  had  been  sum 
moned  to  meet  in  extra  session  to  deal  with  the  situation, 
and  he  was  willing  to  thrust  responsibility  upon  it. 

To  the  eternal  credit  of  Virginia  and  even  to  the  Junto, 
a  solution  for  the  crisis  was  forthcoming.  Going  back  to  a 
recommendation,  first  made  by  John  Randolph  to  Albert 
Gallatin,  when  the  latter  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and 
again  renewed,  in  1834,  by  Wm.  F.  Gordon,  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough.now  suggested  to  Van  Buren  a  complete  separation 
of  the  federal  finances  from  all  banks  whatsoever.  To  this 
end  he  proposed  a  system  of  federal  depositories,  two  or  more 
for  each  state,  under  the  charge  and  management  of  federal 
commissioners.  In  such  an  expedient  Brockenbrough  saw 
security,  both  to  the  state  banks  and  to  the  federal  govern 
ment.  In  the  first  place  it  would  make  a  national  bank  un 
necessary,  and  familiarity  with  local  conditions  would  make 
it  possible  for  the  federal  government  to  accept  the  notes  of 
specie  paying  banks  in  payment  for  lands.  Thus  the  credit 
system  could  be  maintained  which  he  considered  necessary 
"in  a  rising  and  enterprising  country  like  ours,"  where  "a 
mere  metallic  currency  is  too  silly  for  any  man  of  sense  to 
dwell  upon."  In  the  second  place,  the  proposed  system  pro 
vided  a  suitable  financial  agency  which  could  be  freed  from 
the  embarrassments  of  an  occasional  suspension  of  specie 
payment.11 

As  a  way  out  of  his  dilemma,  Van  Buren  readily  ac- 
Brockenbrough' s  suggestion  and  hastened  to  enlist 
Rives  and  others  in  support  of  it.  Without  mentioning  the 
specie  circular  he  laid  before  them  three  methods  for  caring 
for  the  federal  moneys,  viz:  a  national  bank,  the  continued 
use  of  the  state  banks  under  certain  regulations  and  restric- 

P.  Branch  Historical  Papers,  Vol.  III.,  No.  3,  p.  253. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  195 

tions,  and  the  proposed  independent  treasury  system.  The 
first  of  these  propositions  he  himself  was  unwilling  even  to 
consider,  but  he  expressed  no  preference  as  between  the  re 
maining  two.  In  keeping  with  the  purpose  of  the  politicians 
for  maintaining  accord  within  the  party,  he  suggested  to 
Rives  that  he  write  to  Benton,  Wright,  Buchanan,  and  Tall- 
madge  upon  the  importance  of  coming  together  in  a  concilia 
tory  spirit  for  the  consideration  of  these  propositions.12 

At  once  Bives  saw  in  the  proposed  independent  treasury 
a  scheme  to  give  the  whole  country  "an  exclusively  metallic 
currency"  or  to  give  the  government  "one  money  and  the 
people  another,"  both  of  which  its  author  had  clearly  en 
deavored  to  avoid.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  constitution 
and  of  expediency  he  considered  a  national  bank  unthink 
able,  even  going  beyond  Van  Buren  in  his  opposition  to  it. 
Accordingly  he  informed  the  President  that  he,  "with  Jack 
son  and  Taney,"  believed  "selected  state  banks  under  proper 
regulations  adequate  to  the  wants  of  the  federal  govern 
ment"  and  helpful  auxiliaries  in  "the  improvement  of  the 
currency  of  the  country."  Though  it  may  have  been  unable 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  panic,  he  was  also  unwilling  to 
discard  a  system  which  had  worked  well  for  three  years  for 
"a  new  and  very  doubtful  experiment."13  Thus  it  became 
plain  that  there  was  to  be  no  compromise  with  Rives. 

Other  Virginians,  notably  Judge  Parker  and  Judge 
Daniel,  to  whom  Van  Buren  had  submitted  Brockenbrough's 
proposal,  saw  in  it  a  scheme  to  continue  the  specie  circular 
and  even  to  put  the  whole  country  upon  a  hard  money  basis, 
but  they  did  not  hesitate  on  that  account  to  approve  it.  They 
were  willing  to  go  further  than  Brockenbrough  and  to  accept 
the  whole  of  Benton's  program.  They  each  thought  that  the 
government  had  come  to  a  choice  between  an  independent 
depository  and  the  use  of  specie  and  a  national  bank  and 
the  continued  use  of  discredited  paper.  Their  opinions  were 
doubtless  potent  with  the  President  in  determining  his  sub- 


12  Van  Buren  MSS. 
™IUd.}  June  3,  1837. 


196  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

sequent  actions.  "The  bankers  of  Wall  Street,"  said  Parker, 
may  have  to  say  'Othello's  occupation  is  gone/  "  but  he  was 
confident  that  the  "people  will  rejoice  and  bless  the  day  which 
emancipates  them  from  the  iron  yoke  of  the  moneyed  aris 
tocracy.'7  He  therefore  advised  Van  Buren,  if  for  nothing 
else  than  politics,  to  take  a  stand  against  the  credit  system 
and  the  discredited  banks  and  "to  trust  all  to  the  people."14 

To  Ritchie  there  remained  one  of  the  three  possible 
courses.  He  could  have  gone  to  one  or  the  other  extreme — 
followed  Benton  or  Hives — or  taken  the  middle  course  as 
outlined  by  his  cousin,  Dr.  Brockenbrough.  Political  con 
sistency  and  expediency,  not  always  virtues,  and  his  friend 
ship  for  and  confidence  in  Rives  as  the  hope  of  Virginia,  left 
him  little  choice.  To  Butler  he  had  already  committed  him 
self  to  the  credit  system,  and  to  the  public  at  large  he  had 
committed  himself  against  the  independent  treasury,  when 
proposed  as  a  Whig  measure  in  1$3 4.  Accordingly  he  now 
sided  with  Rives,  and  to  remove  the  objections  to  the  state 
banks  as  federal  depositories  and  as  agencies  for  preserving  a 
sound  currency  he  began  to  urge  an  early  resumption  of  specie 
payment  and  their  more  rigid  regulation  and  control,  insist 
ing  meanwhile  that  the  panic  would  soon  be  ended  and  that 
the  country  would  return  to  its  former  prosperity.  During 
its  special  session  of  twelve  days,  in  June,  1837,  the  General 
Assembly  was  completely  under  his  influence  and  did  noth 
ing  hostile  to  the  interests  of  the  state  banks. 

But  the  panic  continued;  business  demoralization  in 
creased;  and  the  public  became  daily  more  hostile  to  the 
state  banks.  Something  in  the  line  of  immediate  resumption 
had  to  be  done,  or  the  days  of  the  banks  were  numbered. 
Thanks  to  Rives,  Ritchie,  and  Brockenbrough,  they  had  es 
caped  the  wrath  of  the  Assembly  in  Virginia,  but  angered 
solons  elsewhere  now  planned  to  force  resumption  or  a  for 
feiture  of  the  banks'  charters.  Then,  too,  rumor  had  it  that 
Van  Buren  had  cast  his  lot  with  the  hard  money  party  and 

14  Van  Buren  MSS.}  May  27,   1837. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  197 

that  he  proposed  to  recommend  an  independent  treasury. 
After  a  conference  with  Dr.  Brockenbrough15  Ritchie  threw 
himself  into  the  breach  with  "A  Proposition"  for  a  conven 
tion  of  bankers  to  meet  in  Baltimore  on  September  18th,  two 
weeks  after  the  date  set  for  the  meeting  of  Congress.  The 
object  of  the  proposed  meeting  was  to  devise  "means  for 
bringing  about  a  resumption  of  specie  payment,"  but  it  also 
contemplated  greater  security  for  the  state  banks  and  a 
formidable  stand  of  the  conservative  elements  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party. 

The  Proposition  met  with  small  encouragement  in  the 
states,  and  it  soon  became  definitely  known  that  Van  Buren 
would  adhere  to  the  specie  circular,  and  furthermore  that 
he  would  recommend  the  proposed  independent  treasury. 
Thus  Rives  had  lost  his  fight  one  month  before  Congress  met, 
when  he  had  expected  to  carry  everything  before  him.  At 
once  he  set  about  to  rally  his  followers  under  the  conservative 
banner.  Tallmadge  in  New  York  and  other  conservative 
leaders  elsewhere  took  a  similar  course.  Their  organ,  the 
Madisonian,  now  first  saw  the  light  in  Washington,  and 
Rives  began  to  be  openly  mentioned  for  the  presidency.  In 
vain  did  Dr.  Brockenbrough  plead  for  harmony  in  the  party 
and  endorse  the  independent  treasury.  In  his  letters  of 
"Camillus,"  which  now  appeared  in  the  Charlottesville  Re 
publican  and  later  in  the  press  of  the  whole  country,  Rives 
declared  his  platform  and  proclaimed  relentless  war  upon 
those  who  were  overthrowing  the  Jacksonian  Democracy.16 

Ritchie  was  now  in  a  dilemma.  On  one  side  stood  the  ad 
ministration  and  a  number  of  his  personal  friends,  among 
them  Judge  Daniel,  Dr.  Brockenbrough,  and  his  brother-in- 
law,  Judge  Parker.  On  the  other  side  were  Rives  and,  as 
Ritchie  believed,  aa  majority  of  the  Democratic  party"  in 
Virginia.  The  results  of  the  proposed  campaign  of  educa 
tion  in  behalf  of  the  administration  remained  unknown,  but 

15  Van  Buren  MSS.     Brockenbrough  to  Rives,  August  5,  1837. 

16  Ibid.;  Richmond  Enquirer,   August    18,    1837. 


198  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

he  proposed  to  remain  loyal  to  the  Conservatives  without 
breaking  with  the  administration.  To  Bives  he  expressed  a 
preference  for  the  independent  treasury  over  a  national  bank, 
but  he  advised  him,  "as  a  wise  and  prudent  man"  not  to 
"brave  the  executive  power."  "It  is,"  said  he,  "fearful  odds 
why."17  To  Van  Buren,  who  had  taken  Eitchie  into  his  full 
confidence  explaining  why  he  favored  the  independent  treas 
ury  and  adhered  to  the  specie  circular,  he  expressed  alarm 
because  of  the  increased  power  which  would  be  given  the 
executive  by  the  proposed  changes,  but  he  took  particular 
pains  to  make  his  position  on  them  clear  to  the  administration, 
as  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  Van  Buren  shows : 

"When  I  first  expressed  them  (his  opinions  on  the  independent 
treasury)  I  was  aware  that  they  differed  with  two  of  my  most  inti 
mate,  most  trustworthy  friends,  Judge  Parker  and  Dr.  Brockenbrough. 
I  was  told  you  were  going  also  for  the  Sub-Treasury  system,  and  no 
man  can  be  ignorant  of  the  fearful  odds  to  be  encountered  in  the 
Executive  power.  I  expected  to  meet  with  the  opposition  of  every 
Press  friendly  to  the  Administration,  and  I  scarcely  knew  one  man 
in  the  Republican  party  who  had  made  up  his  mind  against  the  sup 
posed  Executive  project.  I  was  not  certain  of  the  course  which  Mr. 
Rives  would  take.  But  I  made  up  my  opinion  on  the  reasons,  which 
both  the  Enquirer  and  the  Globe  took  in  1834.  If  you  have  the 
Enquirer  for  Oct.  3,  1834,  you  will  find  the  strong  grounds,  which 
my  friend  Blair  took  against  the  Sub-Treasury  system  at  that  time, 
and  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  he  has  forgotten.  My  plan  was  to  bring 
back  the  State  Banks  to  specie  payment.  For  that  purpose  partly, 
I  was  in  favor  of  a  Bank  Convention.  .  .  In  a  word,  to  pursue  in 

some  degree,  the  course  which  was  pursued  in  the  parallel  period  of 
1815-'! 6.  I  did  not  believe  that  the  S'tate  Bank  Deposits  had  been 
fairly  tried.  I  did  not  think  with  Mr.  Adams  that  they  were  as  bad 
or  worse  than  counterfeiters,  nor  with  Gen.  Jackson  that  they  had 
been  instigated  by  their  subserviency  to  Messrs.  Biddle  &  the  Barrings 
to  suspend  payment,  nor  that  they  were  suspending  to  speculate  in  their 
paper  or  to  sell  their  specie.  But  I  did  believe  that  they  might  be 
induced  to  resume  payment  at  some  early  period,  and  that  with  proper 
precautions,  they  might  serve  as  useful  agents  of  the  public  Revenue. 
.  .  .  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  say  positively  what  the  public 
sentiment  is  in  Virgina.  I  can  only  speak  of  the  very  few  persons 
who  are  around  me.  This  short  letter  is  written  to  you  in  confidence, 
and  I  may,  therefore,  say,  that  Judge  Parker  &  Dr.  Brockenbrough  are 
yet,  I  believe,  for  the  Treasury  Scheme — the  former,  however,  is  for 
the  Bank  Convention,  the  latter  is  decidedly  so,  and  now  thinks  the 
new  system  cannot  be  carried  out  unless  the  resumption  has  taken 
place.  Judge  Daniel  goes  strongly  for  the  Sub-Treasury  'System.  On 
the  other  hand,  Mr.  Rives,  James  Garland,  Nicholas,  Rawlins,  the 

"Rives  MSS.    Ritchie  to  Rives,  August  10,  1837. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  199 

President  of  the  Farmers  Bank,  are  decidedly  against  it.  Fontaine  of 
Hanover  (a  senator  of  our  State  Senate)  is  on  the  same  side.  I  do 
not  really  know  how  my  friend  Roane  (the  U.  S.  Senator)  stands 
affected.  But  judging  from  other  indications  and  especially  from  the 
general  tone  of  my  domestic  correspondence  (for  the  Enquirer)  I  am 
disposed  to  think  it  probable  that  the  majority  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  Virginia,  will  be  opposed  to  the  Sub-Treasury  System  as  compared 
with  the  State  Banks."18 

When  Congress  assembled  in  September,  Ritchie  re 
mained  loyal  to  Rives.  Facing  the  praise  of  a  united 
press  the  Enquirer  and  the  Charlottesville  Republican  con 
demned  the  President's  message.  When  the  Richmond  Whig 
saw  Calhoun  returning  to  the  Democratic  fold,  it  daily 
expected  "Father  Ritchie"  to  take  a  "flip-flop"  to  the  admin 
istration  which  seemed  to  be  reuniting  as  of  old,  despite  the 
talk  of  disintegration.  But  the  flip-flop  did  not  come,  and  it 
turned  to  chiding  the  editor  of  the  Enquirer  because  of  his 
alliance  with  the  "nullifier,"  but  he  remained  aloof  and 
even  defiant.  He  felt  that  the  new  policies  would  wreck  the 
party,  and  he  mistrusted  Calhoun's  motives  and  loathed  his 
ambitions.  In  a  leading  editorial  he  assured  the  public 
that  "Mr.  Calhoun  has  not  gained  our  confidence  by  his 
recent  moves  on  the  chess-board,  however,  much  he  may  have 
won  on  the  hearts  of  our  brethren,  "He  is,"  said  he,  "too 
much  of  a  metaphysician  for  us.  His  late  speech  has  been 
cried  up  by  his  friends  to  the  skies — but  we  will  thank  them 
to  tell  us  how  it  comes  to  want  the  non-committalism  genius 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  Message.  How  so  many  persons  have 
been  puzzled  yet  to  see  from  its  zig-zag  statements  and  bal 
ancing  expressions  whether  Mr.  Calhoun  is  now  or  not  a 
friend  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.19 

From  his  retreat  at  the  Hermitage  the  "Old  Hero"  tried 
to  prevent  Rives  from  pursuing  further  the  road  which  Judge 
White  had  followed  to  oblivion  and  to  arrest  the  schism  in 
his  beloved  party.  .Through  his  influence  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  Ritchie,  but  consistency,  loyalty  to 
friends  and  devotion  to  principle  made  it  impossible  for  him 

™Van  Buren  M88.f  August  20,  1837. 
19  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  3,  1837. 


2CO  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

to  face  about  abruptly.  He  was  always  ready,  however, 
to  compromise  and  conciliate.  Accordingly  he  came  for 
ward  with  a  second  "Proposition,"  this  time  the  Special 
Deposit  System,  a  sort  of  halfway  measure  between  the  use 
of  the  pet  banks  and  the  proposed  independent  treasury. 
Under  this  system  the  federal  moneys  were  to  be  deposited 
with  approved  state  banks  which  would  permit  federal  in 
spection  and  regulation  and  refrain  from  the  use  of  the 
federal  moneys  in  their  banking  operations.20  Ritchie  urged 
its  adoption  as  a  means  of  restoring  business  tranquillity, 
perpetuating  the  state  banks,  making  a  national  bank  impos 
sible,  and  preserving  the  unity  of  the  party.  As  the  fol 
lowing  extract  from  a  letter  to  Rives  shows  he  hoped  to  enlist 
him  in  its  support : 

"We  must  not  divide  and  break  down  the  party.  I  should  think 
that  you  might  all  agree  i^pon  some  plan.  It  seems  to  me  that  Calhoun 
is  easing  off  and  even  Benton  a  little. 

"What  think  you  of  the  plan  of  the  Special  Deposites?  See  the 
Enquirer  of  Friday.  Even  Dr.  Brockenforough  says,  if  there  be  sup 
posed  insuperable  objections  to  the  S.  Treasury  System,  the  Special 
Deposite  System  will  work  well." 21 

Congress  and  even  Rives  paid  little  attention  to  Ritchie's 
proposed  compromise,  and  adjournment  came  without  an 
agreement  upon  a  suitable  depository  for  the  federal  moneys. 
The  time  was,  therefore,  thought  opportune  for  launching 
the  Conservative  party  in  Virginia.  J.  M.  Mason,  James 
Garland,  Geo.  W.  Hopkins,  and  W.  S.  Morgan,  representa 
tives  in  Congress  were  ready  to  join  it,  and  the  reports  of  a 
successfully  contested  election,  in  which  the  united  action  of 
the  Whigs  and  Conservatives  had  made  W.  H.  Seward  Gover 
nor  of  New  York,  inspired  confidence.22  The  home-coming  of 
Rives  was  attend  by  demonstrations  of  popular  approval  of 
his  course  in  Congress ;  Ritchie  praised  "our  worthy  Sena 
tor"  and  endorsed  his  determined  stand;  and  Governor 
Campbell's  message  to  the  General  Assembly,  endorsing  the 
insurgent  movement  and  commending  its  objects  was  re- 

20  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  20,   1837;    Van  Buren  MSB. 

21  Rives  M88.,  September  20,  1837. 

22  Van  Buren  M88.,  R.  E.  Parker  to  Van  Buren,  November  27,  1837. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  201 

ceived  with  enthusiasm.  So  alarming  did  the  situation  be 
come  that  Judge  Parker  began  to  conjecture  about  the  future 
of  the  Democratic  party,  if  it  were  to  be  deprived  of  the 
masterly  direction  of  the  Enquirer.23 

In  the  face  of  such  developments  and  confident  of  the 
outcome  the  administration  leaders  resolved  upon  drastic 
measures  to  hold  their  disintegrating  party  together.  A 
movement  was  started  for  an  independent  press  in  Richmond 
with  Hugh  A.  Garland  as  editor;24  the  "Calhoun  Whigs" 
entering  the  Democratic  party  were  everywhere  treated  with 
the  kindest  consideration,  and  open  bids  were  made  to  John 
Tyler,  Abel  P.  Upshur,  Henry  A.  Wise,  Thomas  W.  Gilmer, 
and  others  to  follow  their  example;  the  Globe  was  admon 
ished  to  deal  gently  with  Rives ;  and  Van  Buren  was  ad 
vised  to  say  as  little  as  possible  upon  the  subject  of  the 
independent  treasury  in  his  regular  message  to  Congress. 
Finally  it  was  arranged  that  Judge  Parker,  a  politician  of 
the  "gum  shoe"  variety,  should  be  on  hand  for  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly  with  a  letter  from  Van  Buren 
which  could  be  shown  to  a  "few  and  in  circumstances  which 
would  satisfy  them."25 

This  bold  stand  effectively  checked  Ritchie  who  did  not 
contemplate  a  breach  with  his  party,  but  it  only  spurred 
Rives  to  renewed  efforts.  The  regular  session  of  Congress 
for  1837-'38  had  carried  him  too  far  adrift  to  permit  a 
return  to  the  fold,  and  he,  an  "expunger"  and  a  "remover 
of  the  deposits,"  \vas  royally  hated  by  the  Whigs.  Thus 
there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  persist  in  the  third 
party  movement.  He  could  not  join  the  Whigs  as  the  Con 
servatives  in  New  York  were  doing,  because  the  Whigs  did 
not  desire  his  help  and  had  within  their  party  such  men  as 
Tyler  and  Leigh  wrhose  ambitions  ran  counter  to  his  own. 
Besides  the  Conservative  strength  had  never  been  tested 
before  the  people,  and  the  contest  for  members  of  the  General 
Assembly  was  at  hand. 

23  Van  Buren   M88.,  January  18,  1838.  A 

24  Ibid.,  Daniel  to  Van  Buren,  January  23,  1838.  * 

25  Ibid.,  Parker  to  Van  Buren,  November  14,  27,   1837. 


202  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

As  the  time  for  the  spring  elections  drew  near  and  it 
became  daily  more  evident  that  Congress  would  adjourn 
without  agreeing  upon  a  suitable  depository  for  the  federal 
revenues,  the  cause  of  the  administration  in  Virginia  be 
came  alarming.  The  "campaign  of  education"  by  which 
the  leaders  had  hoped  eventually  to  win  had  thus  far  been 
unsuccessful,  but  like  the  Conservatives,  they  too  were  anxi 
ous  for  the  verdict  of  the  people  and  apparently  willing  to 
abide  by  it.  Silas  Wright,  a  special  emissary  from  Van 
Buren,  came  to  Richmond  to  confer  with  Ritchie,  who  was 
now  greatly  concerned  about  the  movement  to  destroy  his 
press.  As  a  result  of  this  and  other  conferences,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  whole  weight  of  the  Enquirer  would  be  thrown  to  the 
administration  in  the  .fight  then  to  be  waged  before  the 
people  in  Virginia  and  elsewhere,  provided,  however,  that 
the  war  on  Ritchie  was  to  cease  and  that  he  was  to  be  left 
to  follow  his  independent  course  in  case  the  administration 
failed  in  its  campaign  of  education.  Accordingly  Ritchie 
switched  the  issue  from  Rives  and  the  independent  treasury 
to  Van  Buren  and  the  national  bank.  In  the  very  beginning 
of  the  conservative  movement  it  will  be  remembered  he  had 
left  a  loop-hole  for  such  an  exit  by  informing  Rives  that  he 
would  go  for  the  independent  treasury  to  defeat  a  recharter 
of  the  national  bank.  Protesting  against  the  design  of  the 
"piebald"  Whigs  to  restore  the  monster,  he  now  entered  the 
list  of  those  fighting  for  the  regular  Democracy,  and  Parker's 
letters  to  Van  Buren  became  more  encouraging.26 

Despite  Ritchie's  good  faith  in  carrying  out  his  part  the 
election  in  Virginia  resulted  in  defeat  for  the  Democrats, 
who  found  consolation  only  in  their  continued  control  of 
the  state  Senate  and  their  ability  thus  to  prevent  the  Whigs 
from  instructing  Roane  out  o%f  the  federal  Senate  and  en 
dorsing  the  national  bank.  The  Conservatives  won  twenty- 
three  Delegates  and  four  Senators,  which  gave  them  the 
balance  of  power  in  the  House  and  on  all  measures  requiring 
a  joint  vote,  such  as  the  election  of  a  federal  Senator. 

26  Van  Buren   MS8. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  203 

Ritchie  attributed  the  defeat  to  apathy,  discord,  and  panic,27 
but  others,  among  them  some  of  his  uninitiated  friends, 
attributed  it  to  Rives  and  Ritchie.  Van  Buren  was  informed 
that  the  "vacillating  and  wavering  course"  of  the  latter  had 
done  "more  harm  than  all  other  things  beside,"28  and  prints 
outside  of  the  state  maintained  that  he  had  desired  and 
planned  the  defeat  hoping  to  force  upon  Congress  his  plan 
for  the  special  deposit  banks. 

Not  perturbed  by  the  charges  against  him  but  fearful 
lest  the  results  of  the  elections  elsewhere  would  dupli 
cate  those  in  Virginia,  Ritchie  appealed  at  once  to  Van 
Buren  on  behalf  of  his  proposed  compromise.  On  July  2, 
18*38,  he  wrote  as  follows: 

"I  am  about  to  write  you  a  very  free  letter.  I  have  no  time  to 
study  the  graces  of  composition.  I  must  tell  my  tale  right  straight  on. 
The  mail  closes  jwithin  a  short  time,  and  it  was  only  within  a  few 
minutes  past,  that  upon  a  long  conversation  with  Dr.  Brockenbrough, 
I  have  determined  to  take  this  mode  of  addressing  you,  instead  of 
taking  the  cars  in  the  morning  for  Washington.  He  thought  it  would 
be  best  for  me  to  go  on  political  grounds,  but  advised  me  on  personal 
considerations  to  decline  the  visit.  He  said  that  I  would  be  watched, 
hampered,  &  belittled.  But  these  considerations  should  not  have  pre 
vented  me,  if  I  had  not  supposed  that  the  special  friends  of  Calhoun 
in  the  H.  of  R.  might  suspect  the  object  of  my  visit,  and  then  set 
themselves  to  defeat  it. 

"Sir,  you  ought  to  know  me.  From  the  first  moment  of  my 
acquaintance  with  you,  I  have  been  your  personal  &  political  friend. 
How  warmly  I  have  been  so,  let  my  actions  speak  more  than  my  pro 
fessions.  No  man  more  sincerely  rejoiced  in  your  election — no  one 
could  have  more  highly  regretted  that  the  first  measure  of  your  admin 
istration  should  have  called  forth  my  opposition.  But  I  have  ever 
been  most  anxious  to  conciliate  and  to  compromise  this  vexatious  ques 
tion.  I  have  spared  no  pains  to  bring  our  friends  together.  Were 
any  one  at  Washington,  who  had  the  ear  of  both,  with  an  address  and 
weight  of  character  to  enforce  his  recommendations,  I  think  the  matter 
would  have  been  settled  before  this.  But  each  side  complains  that  the 
other  will  not  compromise,  and  nothing  is  done. 

"I  wrote  Mr.  Balch  last  Thursday  that  if  I  could  do  any  good  at 
Washington  I  would  cheerfully  go  on.  He  gave  me  no  sort  of  encour 
agement.  I  had  almost  abandoned  the  whole  matter  in  despair,  until 
I  received  the  three  letters  marked  A.  B.  &  C.  I  trust  them  to  your  most 
sacred  honor. 

"I  beg  you  to  read  most  carefully  the  letters  of  Messrs.  Rives  and 
Hopkins  in  particular.  Call  around  you,  my  dear  S'ir,  your  closest 

27  Richmond  Enquirer,  May   1,   11,   1838. 

28  See  Van  Buren  MSS.,  for  April  and  May. 


204  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

friends,  if  it  be  not  too  late.  You  know  the  means  of  bringing  about 
such  results  far  better  than  I  can  undertake  to  advise.  Cannot  Mr. 
Poinset  approach  Mr.  Lagare,  and  thus  make  a  point  d'  appui  between 
the  two  wings? 

"If  Congress  could  be  induced  to  postpone  their  adjournment  for 
a  few  days,  everything  might  be  settled.  I  beg  you  in  the  most 
emphatic  terms  to  close  up  this  vexatious  question  now.  Read  the 
letter  of  my  friend  Rutherford  ( the  Lieut.  Governor,  and  a  Sub-Treasury 
man)  and  of  Fontaine  our  amiable,  pure  &  sensible  Senator. 

''I  pray  you  not  to  listen  to  the  infuriated  counsels  of  those  bitter 
Hotspurs,  who  advise  you  to  appeal  to  the  Polls.  Before  the  Fall  Elec 
tions  the  schism  in  our  party  may  produce,  the  direst  results.  We  shall 
all  be  distracted  whether  Mr.  Wright's  bill  passes  or  is  rejected.  We 
shall  probably  be  beaten,  and  then  a  National  Bank  may  be  fastened 
upon  us. 

"Mr.  Calhoun  is  for  agitation,  agitation.  But  you  know  him  suf 
ficiently  to  know  how  far  he  is  to  be  trusted  for  motives  or  measures. 
John  P.  King  has  drawn  this  politician  to  the  life. 

"I  am  interrupted.  I  have  no  time  to  pour  out  the  thousand 
leflections  that  run  in  my  brain.  Your  own  sagacity  renders  it,  how 
ever,  unnecessary. 

"I  entreat  you  to  act  and  to  save  our  Party,  as  I  took  the  liberty 
of  telling  you,  through  my  letter  of  last  year  to  Mrs.  B.  in  the  spirit 
of  a  liberal  compromise. 

"Believe  me  to  be,  your  friend, 

THOMAS  RITCHIE." 

"(Please  return  my  letters.)  Dr.  Brockenbrough  fully  agrees 
with  me  in  all  my  calculations  &  he  is  the  only  person  who  knows  of 
this  letter."2* 


With  characteristic  tenacity  Van  Buren  refused  to  be 
moved  even  by  this  ardent  appeal  from  his  old  friend.  He 
yet  had  confidence  in  his  proposed  campaign  of  education, 
and,  as  soon  as  Congress  adjourned,  set  out  to  reason  with 
the  Virginians  on  their  native  heath  at  the  White  Sulphur. 
On  his  way  thither  he  made  it  convenient  to  eat  "bacon  and 
beans"  writh  Kives  at  Castle  Hill  and  to  break  bread  with 
T.  J.  Randolph,  Rives'  rival  and  neighbor.  While  Daniel 
and  Parker  criticised  this  condescension  as  "calculated  to 
inflate  the  vanity  and  self-importance  of  one  (Rives)  who 
ridiculously  imagines  himself  to  be  holding  the  destiny  of 
the  administration  and  of  the  Republican  party  in  his 
hands,"30  Ritchie  accepted  the  visit  in  a  gracious  spirit  and 

29  Van  Buren  M88. 

30  Ibid.,  Daniel  to  Van  Buren,  August  8,  1838. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  205 

was  loud  in  his  praise  of  the  Commonwealth's  distinguished 
guest.31 

Ritchie  evidently  misunderstood  the  object  of  Van 
Buren's  visit.  It  was  not,  as  he  supposed,  to  pave  the  way 
to  a  compromise  but  to  prevent  a  further  widening  of  the 
schism  within  the  party.  In  the  last  days  of  the  regular 
session  of  Congress  Rives  had  expressed  a  willingness  to 
accept  the  Special  Deposit  System  with  important  modifica 
tions,  and  there  was  thus  ground  for  Ritchie's  false  con 
jectures.  On  the  verge  of  what  he  considered  a  triumph  for 
his  proposition  he  now  pled  more  earnestly  than  ever  for 
conciliation  and  compromise,  as  the  only  condition  under 
which  the  Democrats  could  win  in  1840.  In  the  efforts  of  the 
Globe  to  make  the  President's  sojourn  both  pleasant  and 
profitable  he  saw  also  a  supposed  disposition  to  abandon  the 
independent  treasury.32  Had  Ritchie's  advice  been  followed, 
the  Democrats  would  doubtless  have  fared  better  in  1840,  but 
Van  Buren's  administration  would  have  stood  for  naught 
instead  of  a  brilliant  period  in  the  executive  history  of  our 
country. 

Both  Rives  and  Ritchie  made  their  greatest  mistake  ini 
under-estimating  the  effect  of  the  acampaign  of  education" 
being  conducted  by  the  administration  and  in  over-estimating 
the  popularity  of  the  credit  system  as  maintained  by  the 
state  banks.  They  also  placed  too  much  emphasis  upon  the 
conditions  in  and  vote  of  Virginia.  If  Van  Buren  accepted 
any  compromise  with  them  in  1838,  it  was  certainly 
only  by  taking  the  lion's  share.  Ere  he  reached  the  springs 
the  tone  of  the  Charlottesville  Republican  made  it  plain  that 
he  had  offered  Rives  nothing  in  the  line  of  conciliation, 
except  the  honor  of  his  presence  for  a  two  day's  visit  in  his 
own  home.  The  work  of  winning  Virginia  had  already  been 
entrusted  to  T.  J.  Randolph,  James  McDowell,  Judge 
Parker,  P.  V.  Daniel,  Geo.  C.  Dromgoole,  and  Dr.  Brocken- 
brough,  and  the  President  had  simply  offered  Rives  a  last 

31  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  31,   1838. 

82  Stevenson  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Stevenson,  August  4  and  5,   1838. 


206  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

opportunity  to  right  himself  with  the  party  which  had  hon 
ored  him  and  from  which  ambition  had  driven  him  astray. 
Contrary  to  expectations  the  autumnal  elections  in  the  other 
states  were  generally  favorable  to  the  administration,  and 
the  independent  treasury  stood  justified  in  the  sight  of  the 
people.  True  to  his  promise  made  to  Silas  Wright,  Ritchie 
accepted  this  last  chance  to  get  into  the  band-wagon,  and, 
in  the  words  of  J.  M.  Mason,  who  also  had  seen  the  light,  was 
now  ready  to  "sink  or  swim77  with  Van  Bufen.  Some  sug 
gested  Calhoun  as  a  compromise  leader,  but  Ritchie  was  un 
willing  to  be  rocked  in  the  same  "truckle-bed77  with  the  man 
who  had  defeated  Crawford  and  fathered  Nullification.33 

Such  changes  of  attitude  as  this  have  subjected  Ritchie  to 
the  severest  criticisms,  among  which  were  disloyalty  and 
ingratitude.  When  considered  in  connection  with  his  promise 
to  Silas  Wright,  the  best  explanation  for  this  change  is 
found  in  a  letter  from  Daniel  to  Van  Buren.  "Mr.  Rives,'7 
said  he,  "ought  to  have  known  Ritchie  better.  Should  have 
known  that  altho7  he  is  glad  to  acquire  favor  throughout 
the  nation,  that  his  special  horizon  is  limited  to  the  State 
of  \'rirgiiiia ;  that  he  never  will  go  beyond  what  with  assidu 
ous  industry  he  strives  to  ascertain  is  the  sentiment  of  this 
state.  To  that  he  will  adhere  no  matter  who  stands  or  who 
falls.  He  believed,  I  have  no  doubt,  from  the  unfortunate 
connection  of  the  state  with  her  banks,  thru7  her  literary 
fund  and  fund  for  internal  improvement  vested  in  their 
stocks,  and  from  her  unwise  pledge  to  receive  their  notes  in 
payment  for  taxes,  that  she  would  be  constrained  to  sustain 
these  banks  to  any  and  every  extent,  and  therefore,  he  sided 
with  them :  he  now  believes  the  state  will  not  countenance  an 
outbreak  with  an  administration  which  sustains  her  familiar 
and  great  constitutional  doctrines;  therefore,  to  keep  with 
the  majority  in  the  state,  he  will  abandon  Mr.  Rives,  if 
necessary  and  save  himself  from  falling  to  the  earth.  I  sus- 


33  Richmond  Enquirer,  September  28,  1838;  Stevenson  MSS., 
Ritchie  to  Stevenson,  March  4,  1838;  Ibid.,  Rutherford  to  Stevenson, 
July  28,  1839. 


A  STUDY  ix  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  207 

pect,  too,  that  Ritchie's  own  involvements  with  the  banks 
have  had  their  influence."34 

The  signs  of  the  times  carried  no  warnings  for  Rives 
who  adhered  to  the  third  party,  defying  the  advice  of  friends 
and  the  Whig  coquetry.  In  the  defeat  of  the  Whigs  at  the 
polls  in  the  autumnal  elections  of  1838  and  in  the  successes 
of  the  Conservatives  in  Virginia  he  saw  a  possibility  of 
making  the  latter  the  real  opposition  party  and  of  placing 
himself  in  Clay's  shoes.35  His  "Principles  and  Policies  of 
the  Conservatives/7  declaring  for  an  "armed  neutrality," 
was  a  revised  statement  of  his  political  platform,  first  set 
forth  in  the  letters  of  "Camillus."36  Brockenbrough  now 
questioned  his  Democracy,  alleging  that  it  had  been  shat 
tered  by  his  failure  to  reach  the  vice-presidency  in  1836 ; 
Parker  and  Daniel  ridiculed  the  armed  neutrality  and  the 
presumption  of  its  chief  exponent;37  and  Ritchie,  now  fear 
ing  a  union  between  the  Whigs  and  the  Conservatives, 
warned  him  not  to  throw  himself  into  the  hands  of  the 
Volsci.38 

Forced  to  abandon  his  friend  and  doubtless  wounded  in 
pride,  Ritchie  now  sought  consolation  in  the  quiet  of 
Brandon,  on  the  James,  whither  he  was  accustomed  to  go 
in  times  of  adversity.  The  Enquirer  could  not  retreat, 
however,  and  turned  temporarily  to  a  discussion  of  non- 
partisan  subjects.  Its  attacks  upon  the  abolitionists  were 
renewed  and  intensified;  greater  aggressiveness  in  the  work 
of  internal  improvements  was  urged;  and  agriculture  and 
manufacturing  came  in  for  a  share  of  attention.  It  was 
just  as  unwilling  to  permit  Calhoun  to  tap  Western  Virginia 
and  divert  its  traffic  thence  to  Charleston  as  to  see  it  made 
tributary  to  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  Without  endors 
ing  protection  the  Enquirer  tried  also  to  show  how  prejudice 
against  the  tariff  had  prevented  the  rise  of  a  belt  of  manu- 

84  Van  Buren  M88.,  October  20,  1838. 
35  Richmond  Enquirer,  April  11,   1839. 
»B/6td.,  January  11,  1839. 
87  Van  Buren  M88.  and  Stevenson  M88. 
38  Richmond  Enquirer,   December  20,   1838. 


208  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

factures  in  Virginia  along  the  granite  belt  separating  the 
Tidewater  from  the  Piedmont.  It  also  contained  able  letters 
and  editorials  setting  forth  the  advantages  and  profits  to  be 
derived  from  scientific  fanning  and  from  silk  culture.39 

Although  in  a  mood  for  reforms  his  dependence  upon 
the  state  banks  now  blinded  Ritchie  to  an  opportunity  for 
real  service.  He  saw  little  merit  in  the  system  of  "free 
banking/'  which  was  then  so  successfully  divorcing  the  banks 
of  New  York  from  politics  by  admitting  competition  into 
the  banking  business.  Such  practices  were  in  keeping  with 
his  principles  of  political  economy  and  with  his  former  sug 
gestions,  but  the  proposition  now  came  as  another  "northern 
fad"  and  was  therefore  under  the  ban  from  the  beginning. 
Besides,  if  Biddle's  "hydra-headed  .monster"  was  to  be  kept 
down,  Ritchie  thought  it  now  necessary  that  the  Democrats 
should  retain  control  of  the  banking  business.  He  knew 
that  Biddle's  genius  was  equal  to  the  task  of  organizing  a 
second  monopoly,  if  it  were  given  free  range  in  a  field  open 
to  competition.40 

The  intense  interest  in  the  impending  senatorial  contest 
in  Virginia  made  it  impossible  for  Ritchie  to  abandon  politics 
even  temporarily.  As  has  been  shown  the  Conservatives  held 
the  balance  of  power  in  the  General  Assembly.  They  were 
now  determined  to  force  the  re-election  of  their  leader.  A 
majority  of  both  the  Democrats  and  the  Whigs  were  willing 
to  combine  with  them  to  effect  this  object.  The  Democrats 
asked  only  that  Rives  cease  to  oppose  the  administration, 
but  the  Whigs  made  no  conditions  as  to  the  price  of  their 
help  and  thus  rendered  their  coalition  with  the  Conservatives 
possible.  Nevertheless  an  election  was  rendered  impos 
sible,  because  there  were  "impracticables"  in  each  of  the  old 
parties,  notably  the  thirteen  Whigs,  who  would  not  counte 
nance  such  an  alliance  and  who  thus  constituted  themselves  a 
second  and  third  balance-of-powTer  party.  Not  even  so  tempt- 


39  See  Richmond  Enquirer,   September   to   December,   1838. 

40  Ibid.,  November  30,  1838;  Ibid.,  December   18,  1838;   Ibid.,  Jan 
uary  12,  1839. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  209 

ing  a  plum  as  the  vice-presidency,  though  believed  to  have 
been  tendered  by  Clay,  could  induce  the  "thirteen  imprac- 
ticables"  to  vote  for  Rives.41  Consequently  Virginia  was 
cut  off  from  her  equal  representation  in  the  federal  Senate. 

Though  never  willing  to  admit  the  possibility  of  a  re 
election  for  Rives,  Ritchie  grew  nervous  when  the  vote  in 
the  Assembly  fell  only  two  or  three  short  of  that  goal.  In 
such  an  event  he  saw  the  possibility  of  a  permanent  union 
between  the  Conservatives  and  the  Whigs,  which  would  wrest 
the  electoral  vote  of  Virginia  from  the  Democrats  in  1840. 
Accordingly  he  urged  Rives  to  retire  to  private  life  rather 
than  turn  Federalist  and  desert  the  principles  of  Jefferson 
and  Madison.42  As  a  solution  of  the  question  of  the  senator- 
ship  he  urged  a  referendum.  "They  (the  people)  are,"  said 
he,  "the  foundation  of  power,  and  in  all  doubtful  cases  their 
servants  are  bound  to  consult  them."43  It  is  extremely 
doubtful,  however,  whether  he  would  have  endorsed  a 
referendum  for  a  proposition  to  increase  the  number  of 
independent  state  banks  or  to  confirm  the  banking  monopoly 
of  Richmond,  questions  indirectly  involved  in  this  issue. 

Rives  chose  to  lead  the  Conservatives  into  their  second 
contest  before  the  people,  that  of  April,  1839,  as  an  inde 
pendent  party,  fighting  under  the  banner  of  the  armed 
neutrality.  He  yet  ^ hoped  for  greater  defections  from  the 
Democrats,  and  it  is  not  certain  that  he  now  contemplated  a 
permanent  alliance  with  the  Whigs.  To  this  end  the  Con 
servatives  of  the  Assembly  issued  an  address  to  the  people, 
and  Rives  himself  published  a  letter  defending  their  course 
and  reasserting  their  claims  to  be  the  original  Democrats. 
In  proof  thereof  it  was  pointed  out  that  only  one  Democrat 
had  voted  for  the  Sub-Treasury  Bill  when  first  proposed  in 
1834  and  that  a  large  majority  in  each  house  of  Congress 
had  opposed  the  specie  circular  in  1837.  Rumors  of  a 


"Richmond  Enquirer,  January  24,  1839;  Ibid.,  February  2,  7,  14, 
1839. 

42  Ibid.,  January  24,  29,  1839;  Ibid.,  February  14,  1839. 
48  Ibid.,  February  21,  1839. 


210  THOMAS  KITCIIIE 

tentative  understanding  between  the  Whigs  and  the  Con 
servatives  looking  to  the  presidential  election  of  1840  were 
also  denied.  There  were,  nevertheless,  visible  traces  of  a 
Conservative  leaning  to  the  Whigs.  Their  alliance  with  them 
in  the  attempt  to  re-elect  Rives  was  now  defended,  and  Rives 
himself  now  assured  the  public  that  all  Whigs  were  not 
lepers  and  that  he  would  never  be  deterred  from  duty  by  any 
"Brutum  fulmen."44 

The  fifth  rib  thrusts  which  Rives  now  gave  Ritchie  on 
every  occasion  led  to  a  suspension  of  friendly  intercourse 
between  them  and  spurred  the  venerable  editor  to  renewed 
efforts  to  control  the  General  Assembly.  There  was  much  at 
stake:  a  senatorship  in  Congress  and  the  electoral  vote  for 
1840.  Besides  Ritchie  had  to  redeem  himself,  if  possible, 
and  to  rehabilitate  his  friends.  Stevenson  would  not  have 
refused  a  place  on  the  ticket  with  Van  Buren  in  1840, 45  and 
James  McDowell,  whom  Ritchie  liked  scarcely  more  than 
Beiiton,  was  now  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Democracy 
in  Virginia,  thanks  to  the  confusion  wrought  in  the  Junto 
by  Van  Buren's  policies.  It  was  indeed  one  of  those  times 
that  "try  mens?  souls,"  and  as  usual  Ritchie  was  equal  to  the 
test.  The  press  of  the  whole  country  spoke  of  it  as  "one  of 
the  battles  of  his  life."46  With  a  skill  and  adroitness  equal 
to  that  of  Tweed  at  a  later  day,  he  now  extended  the  olive 
branch  to  Impracticables  and  to  Conservatives  alike ;  resur 
rected  the  ghosts  of  the  dead  monsters,  the  national  bank  and 
the  tariff;  and  decried  Clay  in  his  finessing  to  reach  the 
presidency.  The  annexed  extract  from  the  Enquirer  was 
a  typical  rallying  cry: 

"People  of  Virginia  .  .  .  are  you  prepared  to  put  down  'the 
Northern  President  with  Southern  principles?'  Are  you  prepared  to 
disgust  the  whole  Northern  Democracy,  the  best  friends,  as  a  party, 
which  we  have  there,  by  discarding  our  staunchest  friends  in  all  the 
North?  Are  you  prepared  to  paralyze  such  a  man,  to  spread  abolition 
over  the  free  -states,  and  to  shake  the  pillars  of  the  Union  itself.47 

44  Richmond  Enquirer,   March   20,    1839. 

45  Stevenson  MSS.,  John  Rutherford  to   Stevenson,  April   10,  1839. 
48  Richmond  Enquirer,  April   13,  30,   1839. 

47  Richmond  Enquirer,  April    13,    1839. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  211 

The  independent  stand  taken  by  the  Conservatives  made 
success  for  the  Democrats  impossible.  In  counties  where 
they  had  no  candidate  of  their  own  members  of  the  former 
party  either  absented  themselves  from  the  polls,  following 
the  example  of  their  leader,  Hives,  or  supported  the  Whig- 
candidates,  thus  dividing  the  nominal  Democratic  vote. 
As  a  result  the  new  Assembly  had  practically  the  same  poli 
tical  alignments  as  its  predecessor.  Ritchie  found  consola 
tion  only  in  the  fact  that  the  total  popular,  vote  of  the  admin 
istration  candidates  for  the  House  of  Delegates  was  greater 
than  the  combined  totals  of  the  Conservative  and  Whig  can 
didates.48  This,  to  his  mind,  was  sufficient  assurance  that 
Virginia  would  vote  right  in  1840.  Regardless  of  the  fact 
that  the  Democratic  majorities  came  from  the  western  coun 
ties,  where  James  McDowell's  influence  was  greatest  and 
the  hard  money  sentiment  strongest,  the  press  of  New  York 
gave  Ritchie  chief  credit  for  the  showing  of  the  administra 
tion  party. 

Regardless  of  Ritchie's  contentions  the  results  of  the 
election  of  18*39  indicated  doubt  about  the  vote  of  Virginia 
in  the  presidential  election  of  1840.  Accordingly  each  of 
the  national  parties  during  the  months  immediately  follow 
ing  made  every  effort  to  heal  its  schisms  and  to  attract 
strength.  To  this  end  it  was  proposed  that  the  Whigs  and 
the  Conservatives  unite,  to  make  Rives  Governor  and  to  elect 
a  Whig  to  the  federal  Senate.  In  convention  assembled 
at  Staunton  the  Whigs  also  nominated  Tallmadge  for  the 
vice-presidency  on  a  ticket  with  Clay,  and  their  prints  and 
orators  throughout  the  state  sowed  dissension  among  the 
Democrats  by  keeping  Benton  before  the  public  for  the  presi 
dential  succession  and  McDowell,  his  kinsman  and  the  terror 
of  all  slave-holders,  for  the  governorship.49  It  was  even 
asserted  and  with  some  evidences  of  truth,  that  McDowell 
and  Benton  were  getting  control  of  the  press  in  the  western 

48  Stevenson  MSS.,  Ritchie  to  Steveson,  May  15,  1839;  Ibid.,  July 
28,  1839;  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  14,  1839. 

"Richmond  Enquirer,  September  10,  13,  1839;  Ibid.,  October  1,  4, 
1839. 


212  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

counties,  preparatory  to  establishing  their  ascendency  in 
Virginia  and  to  putting  the  Junto  out  of  control.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  "sink  or  swim  party,'7  a  name  now  applied  to 
the  followers  of  Van  Buren,  in  ridicule  of  Ritchie,  were 
equally  active.  Stevenson  was  suggested  for  the  vice-presi 
dency  ;  McDowell  was  to  take  Rives7  place  in  the  Senate,  pro 
vided  Brockenbrough  or  some  other  eastern  man  was  made 
Governor;  public  dinners  were  attended  without  distinc 
tion  as  to  faction;  and  Ritchie  persisted  in  the  contention 
that  one  hundred  state  rights  Whigs,  now  called  "Ritchie 
Whigs,"  were  ready  to  take  the  place  of  each  Conservative 
who  deserted,  a  contention  confirmed  by  the  absence  of  the 
Impracticables  from  the  Whig  State  Convention.50 

The  month  of  December,  1839,  was  fruitful  of  events  of 
consequence  to  the  people  of  the  whole  country,  but  parti 
cularly  those  of  Virginia.  On  March  4th  the  Whigs  in  what 
Ritchie  termed  the  "Thaddeus  Stevens  Convention"  sur 
prised  the  country  by  renominating  General  Harrison  for 
the  presidency  and  John  Tyler  for  the  vice-presidency.  It 
is  true  Tyler's  nomination  was  generally  expected,  but  as 
the  running  mate  of  Clay.  A  few  days  later  the  Whigs  and 
Conservatives  placed  a  young  Virginian,  R,  M.  T.  Hunter,  in 
the  speaker's  chair  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  where 
he,  as  leader  of  the  Calhoun  party  in  Virginia,  was  able  to 
serve  the  interests  of  that  faction  most  effectively.  These 
events  were  followed  in  the  last  days  of  the  month  by  a 
rconciliation  between  Van  Buren  and  Calhoun  and  by 
Ritchie's  unequivocal  declaration  for  the  independent 
treasury.  Thus  more  than  a  modus  operandi  for  the  coming 
presidential  campaign  had  been  effected.  The  way  had  been 
paved  for  the  Calhoun  faction  which  had  hitherto  fought 
in  vain  for  a  footing  in  Virginia  to  fasten  itself  upon  that 
Commonwealth.  When  abolition  and  the  extension  of  negro 
slavery  became  the  sole  issues,  as  they  soon  did,  this  faction 
clinched  the  hold  secured  first  in  1840. 


so  John  Letcher   became   editor   of   the   Valley  Star   in    1839.     See 
Richmond   Enquirer  March    19,    1840. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  213 

Under  the  changed  conditions  the  contest  over  the  vacant 
senatorship  from  Virginia  lost  none  of  its  interest.  A  new 
situation  had  developed  to  prevent  the  election  of  Rives. 
Some  of  his  Conservative  followers  had  become  impracti- 
cables  to  the  extent  that  they  would  not  vote  with  the  Whigs 
who  were  now  ready  to  give  Rives  their  undivided  support, 
provided  the  Conservatives  would  do  likewise.  Early  in  the 
session  of  1S39-'40  John  T.  Anderson,  himself  a  Conserva 
tive  member  of  the  Assembly,  had  made  clear  their  reasons 
for  refusing  to  unite  with  the  Whigs  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
O'Callaghan  of  Xew  York.  Had  General  W.  S.  Scott  been 
the  Whig  nominee  for  the  presidency  instead  of  General 
Harrison,  there  would  have  been  no  barrier  to  such  a  union 
and  to  the  election  of  Rives,  since  Tyler  had  been  nominated 
for  the  vice-presidency.  Under  the  circumstances  Rives 
could  not  openly  ally  with  the  Whigs,  because  some  of  the 
Conservatives  would  then  have  supported  John  Y.  Mason, 
Democrat,  who  was  popular  with  all  parties.  The  result  was 
another  deadlock,  and  Virginia  continued  to  be  represented 
by  only  one  Senator.51 

When  it  became  apparent  that  the  vacancy  in  the  federal 
Senate  would  not  be  filled  Rives  put  a  timely  end  to  the  life 
of  the  third  party  in  Virginia  by  declaring  for  Harrison  for 
the  presidency.  This  new  change  of  attitude  came  when  , 
Clay  and  other  leading  Whigs  were  gathering  at  Richmond  to 
launch  the  campaign  of  1840  for  members  of  the  General 
Assembly  and  was  doubtless  made  in  preparation  for  that 
event.  Henceforth  it  was  to  be  a  straight  out  fight  between 
Whigs  and  Democrats.  The  letter  anouncing  Rives'  affilia 
tion  with  the  Whigs  was  dated  February  15,  but  was  not 
published  until  ten  days  later.  It  disclaimed  against  execu 
tive  usurpation,  the  abuse  of  federal  patronage,  and  Bent  oil's 
''Graduation  Bill"  for  the  sale  of  public  lands  and  was 
especially  vehement  in  its  denunciation  of  the  independent 
treasury,  which  it  claimed  was  capable  of  becoming  a  greater 
menace  than  the  national  bank  had  ever  been.  It  set  forth 

51  Richmond  Enquirer.  January  22.  1840;  Ibid.,  February  1,  4.  1840. 


214  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

a  good  negative  program  and  thus  entitled  its  author  to  full 
membership  in  the  Whig  fraternity. 

The  political  caldron  never  boiled  hotter  than  in  Virginia 
luring  the  period  between  the  adjournment  of  the  Assembly 
md  the  April  elections  of  1840.  The  last  skirmish  before  the 
'reat  fight  for  the  presidency  was  in  progress.  The  Con 
servatives  seem  to  have  divided  almost  evenly  between  the 
wo  old  parties,  but  many  state  rights  Whigs,  such  as  Wm.  O. 
Groode  and  Wm.  P.  Taylor  followed  Calhoun  into  the  Demo- 
ratic  party.  Abolition  entered  into  the  contest  as  at  no 
previous  time.  It  was  now  recalled  that  General  Harrison, 
as  a  young  man,  had  belonged  to  a  society  for  the  abolition 
of  negro  slavery;  that  both  Ritchie  and  McDowell  had  been 
abolitionist  in  1832;  that  Van  Buren,  as  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1821  in  Xew  York,  had  voted 
to  enfranchise  free  negroes;  and  that  R.  M.  Johnson,  the 
Democratic  vice-president  and  candidate  for  re-election,  was 
an  abolitionist  who  had  married  a  wench.  Each  side  was 
able  to  furnish  "positive  proof"  for  its  statements  and  equally 
able  to  refute  all  attacks  upon  its  own  candidates.  In  this 
game  of  crimination  and  recrimination  little  progress  was 
made"  on  either  side,  but,  at  a  psychological  moment  in  the 
contest,  some  one  sprang  Poinsett's  Report  on  the  proposed 
reorganization  of  the  army  and  turned  the  tide  completely  to 
the  Whigs.  Under  the  proposed  changes  of  the  Secretary  of 
War,  which  were  known  to  have  the  President's  approval,  the 
state  militia  was  to  be  used  as  a  part  of  the  national  army, 
which  the  Whigs  now  claimed  would  pave  the  way  for  a 
'iontemplated  executive  usurpation.52  Virginia's  pride  was 
at  once  wounded,  and  before  the  smoke  of  battle  could  clear 
Ritchie  was  forced  to  admit  defeat  and  to  concede  the  re 
flection  of  W.  C.  Rives  to  the  federal  Senate  as  a  Whig. 

The  end  of  this  contest  did  not  produce  even  a  truce  in 
the  bigger  one  of  which  it  was  a  part.  Without  the  slightest 
disposition  to  "give  up"  Ritchie  continued  to  attack  Harri 
son's  anti-slavery  record  and  his  federalistic  leanings  and  to 

62  Stevenson   M8S.,   Rutherford   to   Stevenson,   May   19,    1840. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  215 

berald  his  incompetence  and  obscurity.  He  was  present 
everywhere  on  the  firing  line,  exhorting  his  followers  to 
organize  and  to  rally.  He  even  refused  an  invitation  from 
the  President  to  come  to  Washington,  giving  as  an  excuse 
his  unwillingness  to  leave  Virginia  before  she  had  been 
redeemed.53  By  a  personal  letter  to  Poinsett  he  tried  to 
determine  the  facts  about  his  recommendations  regarding  the 
organization  of  the  army  and  to  exonerate  Van  Buren  from 
any  blame  for  them.54  Expressing  a  desire  to  use  the  re 
maining  days  of  his  life  in  a  defence  of  those  principles  for 
which  his  life  had  been  spent  he  was  determined  that  the 
Whigs  should  raise  no  anew  issue"  and  that  the  war  for 
vindication  should  be  carried  "boldly  into  the  heart  of 
Africa."  Calhoun  was  welcomed  to  Richmond  as  a  spell 
binder,  and  a  new  paper,  The  Crisis,  was  put  into  the 
field  by  Ritchie  to  aid  the  Enquirer  in  its  campaign  of 
education.55  „ 

The  Whigs  were  equally  active.  They  were  confident 
of  success  provided  the  old  issues  which  had  divided  Federal 
ists  and  Republicans  could  be  kept  out  of  the  campaign. 
Van  Buren's  supposed  anti-southern  leanings  were  brought 
into  vivid  review,  and  he  was  pictured  as  a  spendthrift  who 
had  used  the  federal  moneys  to  purchase  French  bedsteads 
and  gold  knives  and  forks  for  the  White  House.  Their  chief 
asset,  however,  was  Poinsett's  Report,  which  they  begged  in 
vain  to  have  published  in  the  Enquirer.  The  least  possible 
was  said  about  the  tariff,  the  bank,  and  internal  improve 
ments.  Despite  their  alleged  monopoly  upon  the  wisdom  and 
decency  of  the  Old  Dominion  the  Whigs  now  conducted  a 
campaign  of  advertising.  Log  cabins  decorated  the  public 
squares  of  all  the  leading  towns  and  cities,  and  the  clans 
rallied  nightly  at  their  Tippacanoe  clubs.  Whig  orators 
visited  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  state,  Clay,  Webster, 

53  Van  Buren  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Van  Buren,  June  1,  1840. 

54  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  12,  1840. 

55  Richmond  Whig,  July  28,   1840;    Ibid.,   August   11,   1840;    Ibid., 
September  29,   1840. 


216  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

and  Kives  appearing  upon  the  hustings.  Webster's  visit  to 
Richmond  was  made  the  occasion  for  a  grand  demonstration, 
when  log  cabins  surmounted  by  living  raccoons  and  canoes, 
filled  with  white  boys  dressed  as  Indians,  were  transported 
through  the  leading  streets  in  ox-carts  and  when  the  children 
of  the  "wise  and  good"  dangled  strings  of  buckeyes  about  their 
necks  in  all  the  glee  of  a  savage  revel.  It  could  not  be  denied 
that  Harrison  had,  as  a  young  man  belonged  to  an  aboli 
tionist  society  in  Richmond,  but  it  was  urged  that  he  had 
since  seen  the  light,  and  in  extenuation  for  his  former 
opinions  reference  was  made  to  the  anti-slavery  tendencies 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  the  Sage  of  Monticello  and 
the  Orator  of  Roanoke. 

Ritchie  anounced  the  results  of  the  contest  as  follows: 
"The  Goths  have  taken  Rome,"  but  he  was  proud  that  athe 
Citadel,"  Virginia,  had  been  saved.  "There  is  an  asp  among 
their  (the  Whig's)  roses,"  said  he.  "The  proud  and  noble 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia  is  against  them.  'Yet  all  this 
availeth  me  nothing,  so  long  as  I  see  Mordecai,  the  Jew, 
sitting  at  the  King's  gate.'  Like  Fabricius  she  despised  the 
seductive  pageant,  and  their  intimidating  threats. 
Seduce  Virginia  by  their  log  cabins,  and  hard  cider,  and 
their  Belial  orators !  Intimidate  her  by  threats  of  revolu 
tion  !  Humbug  her  by  their  arts  and  devices !  How  little 
did  they  know  the  character  of  this  people."56  Van  Buren's 
satisfactory  answer  to  the  letter  addressed  to  him  on  the 
traiff,  negro  salvery,  etc.,  Calhoun's  active  support  of  his 
candidacy,  and  Ritchie's  repeated  expressions  of  confidence 
in  the  Tenth  Legion,  and  the  western  counties  in  general, 
had  saved  Virginia  to  the  administration  but  not  the 
presidency.57 

The  first  returns  from  the  contest  had  indicated  that  the 
result  in  the  country  at  large  would  be  very  close  and  that 
it  would  in  all  probability  depend  upon  the  vote  of  Virginia. 


56  Richmond   Enquirer,   November,    1840. 

57  Ibid.,  August  7,   1840;   Ibid.,  October  15,  1840;   Richmond  Whig, 
December  4,  1840. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  217 

Confident  of  success  the  leading  Whigs  of  that  state  were  / 
exultant,  but,  as  usual,  the  returns  from  the  Valley  counties  { 
dampened  their  ardor  and  created  grave  fear  as  to  the  final 
outcome.  At  once  the  Richmond  Whig  began  to  revile  and  ) 
ridicule  the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  the  "Suabian  Dutch" 
and  to  declare  its  unwillingness  to  see  the  results  of  a  national 
election  turn  upon  "300  spurious  Dutch  votes"  in  Shenan- 
doah  and  Rockingham  counties.  A  vigilance  committee  was 
organized  resolved  to  carry  war  to  the  knife  rather  than 
submit.58  As  later  evidence  showed  a  coup  d'  etat  was 
planned  by  which  Van  Buren  was  to  have  been  seized  on  the 
eve  of  his  second  inaugural  and  carried  to  the  mountains  of 
North  Carolina.  Thence  a  revolution  was  to  have  been 
declared  in  the  name  of  justice  and  in  defence  of  our  repre 
sentative  institutions.  Although  Pleasants  later  denied  the 
existence  of  any  such  revolutionary  plan,  explaining  it  all 
as  hoax  upon  Father  Ritchie,  it  can  not  be  denied  that  the 
Whigs  regarded  their  predicament  as  serious  and  that  they 
contemplated  a  resort  to  force.  . — . 

Though  rarely  forced  to  fight  on  the  defensive,  Ritchie  [ 
was  a  militant  leader  of  an  opposition.  Despite  'their 
strength  in  the  South,  he  firmly  expected  the  Whigs,  when 
once  in  power,  to  return  to  the  tenets  of  the  Federalists. 
Accordingly  he  now  thought  that  Virginia,  aided  by  "chi 
valrous  South  Carolina,"  which,  of  course  meant  Calhoun, 
was  specially  called  upon  to  become  the  "flag  bearer"  of  the 
South  and  of  the  Union  in  an  effort  to  restore  the  government 
to  the  doctrines  of  '98.  He  urged  the  necessity  of  organiza 
tion  and  of  refraining  from  all  discussions  of  the  relative 
merits  of  Van  Buren,  Benton,  Calhouny  and  Buchanan  for 
the  presidency.  He  reprinted  the  Resolutions  of  '98  and 
announced  that  they  would  be  the  beacon  flag  by  which  Vir 
ginia  would  judge  the  incoming  administration.60  Mean- 

58  Richmond   Enquirer,   November   6,    10,    13,    1840;    Richmond   En 
quirer,  December  8,  1840. 

58  Richmond  Enquirer,  November   13,   1840. 
November   20,    1840. 


218  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

while  he  never  lost  sight  of  "our  northern  allies."61  He  was 
evidently  playing  the  role  of  a  conciliator  and  compromiser 
in  an  effort  to  hold  together  the  anti-slavery  and  protectionist 
jSTorth  and  the  pro-slavery  and  free  trade  South  in  prepara 
tion  for  another  fight  for  the  presidency. 

61  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  27,  1840. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  219 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

TYLER  AND   TEXAS. 

While  Governor  of  Virginia,  David  Campbell  made  pub 
lic  some  astounding  revelations  regarding  the  status  of  learn 
ing  in  that  state.  After  a  careful  investigation  he  showed 
that  one-fourth  of  the  white  population  could  not  read  or 
write.  The  effect  of  this  revelation  and  of  Governor  Camp- 
heirs  frequent  references  to  it  were  humiliating  and  gave 
birth  to  one  of  those  spasmodic  but  fruitless  reform  move 
ments  which  characterized  the  South  during  the  ante-bellum 
period. 

As  in  other  movements  for  the  social  betterment  so  in 
this,  the  people  of  the  western  counties  took  the  lead  but 
found  an  able  and  sincere  lieutenant  in  Ritchie.  Already 
under  the  influence  of  the  " Yankee '  school  teacher"  and  im 
patient  with  a  system  of  education  which  provided  a  univer 
sity  training  at  public  expense  for  the  sons  of  the  "eastern 
nabobs"  and  reserved  its  lesser  benefits  for  the  indigent 
poor,"  the  middle  classes,  the  small  farmers,  now  demanded 
public  free  schools,  even  if  they  necessitated  the  destruction 
of  their  far-famed  University.  Educational  conventions, 
attended  by  leading  educators  from  all  parts  of  the  Union, 
were  held  in  the  western  counties  and  sent  mammoth  peti 
tions  to  the  General  Assembly  setting  forth  the  objects  of 
their  meetings  and  asking  aid  from  the  state  to  accomplish 
them. 

Ritchie  lent  his  best  energies  to  a  presentation  of  the  re 
quests  and  to  furthering  the  general  educational  movement. 
The  "buncombe,"  "coon-skin  fooleries,"  and  "hard  cider 
jests"  of  1840  had  temporarily  shaken  his  confidence  in  the 
wisdom  of  the  people,  and  he  now  pled  for  the  public  free 
school  as  the  salvation  of  the  republic.  He  would  now  have 
restated  Montesquieu's  celebrated  maxim,  "Virtue  is  the 


220  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

basis  of  a  republic,"  so  as  to  make  it  read,  "Virtue  and  in 
formation  constitute  the  basis  of  a  republican  government.77 
That  the  Assembly  might  know  what  was  being  done  for  the 
cause  of  public  education  in  other  states,  he  caused  his  own 
duplicate  of  the  library  then  in  use  by  some  of  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  to  be  placed  in  the  Capitol  where  it 
could  be  seen  daily.1  Aided  by  James  M.  Garnett  his  pio 
neer  efforts  were  of  immediate  service  and  planted  those 
germs  which  later  ripened  into  an  abundant  fruitage  in  the 
free  school  systems  of  both  Virginia  and  West  Virginia. 

Among  Ritchie's  many  services  to  the  cause  of  primary 
education  his  address  before  the  Educational  Convention, 
held  in  Richmond,  in  November,  1842,  deserves  special  men 
tion.  In  one  of  the  few  public  addresses  ever  delivered  by 
him  he  there  emphasized  the  wholesome  influences  of  educa 
tion  as  a  means  of  lessening  crime  and  of  strengthening  and 
maintaining  our  democratic  institutions.  He  was  appalled 
at  the  ignorance  in  the  southern  as  compared  with  the  north 
ern  states  and  attributed  the  cause  in  Virginia  to  a  system 
of  public  education  which  pauperized  its  recipients  and  made 
no  provision  for  a  regular,  systematic,  and  proper  superin 
tendence.  He  pointed  to  Prussia  as  the  best  example  of  the 
results  to  be  derived  from  considering  primary  education  as 
a  common  benefit  to  be  borne  as  a  common  burden.2  But  the 
slave-holding  aristocracy  was  then  no  more  disposed  to  bear 
common  burdens  than  is  the  moneyed  aristocracy  of  to-day, 
and  Ritchie  was  thus  prevented  from  joining  hands  with 
Horace  Mann  in  doing  for  the  South  what  the  latter  was 
doing  for  the  North,  and  what  he  was  fitted  to  do  both  by 
education  and  training. 

Ritchie's  enthusiasm  for  free  schools  and  his  responsi 
bility  as  the  father  of  a  large  family  of  girls  led  him  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  education  for  women.  Even  to-day  the 
following  from  one  of  his  editorials  on  that  subject  would 
be  a  sweet  morsel  for  advocates  of  greater  equality  between 

1Richmond  Enquirer,  December  4,  1840. 
'Ibid.,  November  22,   1842. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  221 

the  sexes:  "We  go  for  anything  which  promises  to  advance 
the  improvement  of  women.  Man,  'the  tyranny  man/  has  too 
long  degraded  them  into  beasts  of  hurden  or  into  toys  to  en 
tertain  his  dallying  hours.  We  have  cut  them  off  from  our 
political  privileges.  Their  very  name  is  sunk  in  ours — and 
we  educate  them  in  the  most  light  and  superficial  manner, 
as  if  they  had  very  inferior  minds  to  improve  and  as  if  they 
had  not  the  most  important  duties  to  discharge  in  the  rela 
tions  of  wife,  mother,  helpmate,  and  companion.  But  sev 
eral  of  them  begin  to  assert  their  rights,  to  display  their  in 
tellect,  and  to  command  our  respect.  We  are  now  for  en 
larging  the  sphere  of  their  information  and  influence;  and 
hence  we  approve  of  any  plan  which  is  calculated  to  put 
them  on  more  solid  and  useful  studies."3 

Scientific  agriculture  was  another  subject  of  great  con 
cern  to  Ritchie.  His  cousin,  Edmund  Ruffin,  the  prince  of 
agriculturists  of  the  South,  was  about  to  give  up  the  editor 
ship  of  the  Farmer's  Register  just  at  a  time  when  his  ser 
vices  were  most  needed  to  redeem  the  farm  lands  of  Vir 
ginia.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not  despair.  He  endorsed  the 
suggestion  made  by  W.  C.  Rives  for  establishing  a  chair  of 
agriculture  in  the  State  University,  and  he  himself  thought 
that  the  farmers  should  be  educated  in  the  rudiments  of 
agricultural  chemistry  and  of  scientific  agriculture.  To 
promote  these  objects  he  advocated  the  formation  of  local 
agricultural  societies  centering  in  a  state  OTganization,  the 
distribution  of  prizes  and  premiums  for  model  farms  and 
rare  products  and  the  founding  and  operating  at  state  ex 
pense  of  agricultural  stations.4  His  enthusiasm  upon  these 
subjects  and  the  advantages  from  having  their  particular 
brands  of  flour  mentioned  in  a  journal  of  so  great  authority 
as  the  Enquirer  induced  manufacturers  to  send  Ritchie  sam 
ple  barrels  of  flour  and  choice  boxes  of  tobacco.  Such  re 
ceipts  were  always  acknowledged  in  the  most  gracious  man 
ner.  From  the  hospitable  board  of  the  venerable  editor  the 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  9,   1841. 
*  Ibid,  November   11,  1842. 


222  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

flour  went  direct  to  the  consumers,  and  the  tobacco  was  dis 
tributed  among  his  friends,  as  he  did  not  use  the  weed 
himself. 

But  the  subject  of  negro  slavery  would  not  down  and, 
now  that  the  abolitionists  had  taken  it  in  hand,  diverted  at 
tention  from;  all  local  reform  movements.  At  the  best  their 
activity  was  alarming  and  annoying;  since  the  South  had 
resolved  to  have  Texas,  it  became  positively  unbearable.  To 
gether  with  other  southerners,  relying  on  that  security 
which  came  when  the  White  House  was  occupied  by  a  "north 
ern  man  of  southern  principles,"  and  together  with  those 
Whigs  who,  like  Wise,  Gilmer,  and  Upshur  were  losing  con 
fidence  in  the  power  of  the  Whig  party  to  preserve  the  Union 
with  its  diverse  sectional  interests,  Ritchie  had  become  more 
and  more  of  a  pro-slavery  advocate  and  was  now  determined 
to  have  Texas  that  the  institution  of  slavery  and  the  expand 
ing  energy  of  the  South  might  have  a  West  of  its  own  into 
which  to  retreat  and  fortify  itself.  Shortly  after  her  decla 
ration  of  independence  he  urged  the  representative  of  Texas 
in  London  to  maintain  terms  of  friendship  with  Stevenson, 
our  representative  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  to  whom 
Ritchie  now  made  repeated  suggestions  about  the  possibility 
of  annexing  the  "Lone  Star  Republic"  to  the  United  States.5 

The  new  program  threatened  at  once  the  political  rela 
tions  of  New  York  and  Virginia.  The  defection  of  the  Con 
servatives  had  placed  the  former  state  in  the  power  of  the 
Whigs  with  William  H.  Seward  as  Governor,  who  had  re 
fused  to  extradite  fugitive  slaves.  In  return  Virginia  had 
refused  to  give  up  escaped  criminals,  and  subsequently  her 
Legislature  enacted  an  inspection  law  for  all  vessels  bound 
to  and  from  New  York.  The  differences  between  these  "sov 
ereign  states"  became  menacing,  and  at  times  Ritchie  seemed 
willing  to  part  company  w'ftli  his  former  political  ally.  In 
a  half-hearted  tone  he  commended  the  retaliatory  acts  of  the 
General  Assembly,  but  he  endorsed  most  heartily  Upshur's 
article  in  the  first  number  of  Ruffin's  Southern  Magazine 

8  Stevenson  M88.,   Ritchie   to   S'tevenson,   September  9,   1830. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  223 

and  Monthly  Review,  calling  upon  Virginia  to  take  her 
ground  as  a  sovereign  state  in  opposition  to  the  abolitionists, 
"boldly  and  decidedly"  and  "at  once."6  A  second  thought, 
fathered  doubtlessly  by  his  political  instincts,  revived 
Ritchie's  genius  for  an  appeal  to  the  constitution  and 
brought  forth  the  happy  suggestion  that  all  could  live  in 
peace  and  accord  by  adhering  to  its  compromises. 

The  accession  of  the  Whigs  to  power  under  the  leader 
ship  of  General  Harrison  did  more  than  break  the  hold  of  the 
Albany  Kegency  and  the  Richmond  Junto  upon  the  admin 
istrative  machinery  of  the  government.  It  struck  a  death 
blow  to  the  schemes  of  the  latter  and  its  southern  lieutenants 
for  the  annexation  of  Texas.  The  determination  of  the 
Whigs  to  proceed  at  once  to  put  their  program  into  operation 
would,  if  successful,  have  revived  the  political  contests  over 
the  tariff,  the  bank,  and  internal  improvements  and  blinded 
all  interests  to  the  golden  opportunity  for  expanding  to  the 
westward.  Accordingly  Ritchie  did  not  pause  long  in  com 
mending  the  military  services,  the  patriotism,  and  the  social 
qualities  of  the  deceased  chief  executive,  but  proceeded  at 
once  to  take  advantage  of  "the  act  of  God"  which  had  given 
the  South  a  doubtful  opportunity  in  the  elevation  of  Tyler 
to  the  presidency.  If  the  opportunity  were  used,  the  politi 
cal  achievements  of  the  past  might  be  preserved  and  the 
opportunity  for  a  greater  nationality  might  not  be  lost.  To 
this  end  the  proposed  extra  session  of  Congress  was  con 
demned,  and  no  opportunity  was  lost  to  widen  the  growing 
breach  in  the  long-established  friendship  between  Clay  and 
Tyler.  The  former  was  pictured  as  a  "designing  politician" 
bent  upon  being  President  in  all  but  name,  and  a  "glorious 
immortality"  was  held  out  to  Tyler,  "should  he  be  found 
faithful  to  the  constitution."  His  closest  friends,  Wise,  Gil- 
mer,  and  Upshur,  now  known  as  the  "corporal's  guard," 
were  hailed  as  members  of  the  republican  wing  of  the  Whig 
party,  and  democracy  and  republicanism  were  made  synony- 

8  Richmond  Enquirer,   March   6,   1841. 


224  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

mons  with  strict  construction  and  the  Virginia  doctrines  for 
which  the  guard  professed  to  stand.7 

Tyler's  message  to  the  extra  session  of  Congress  made  it 
as  plain  to  Ritchie  as  to  others  that  the  days  of  Whig  rule 
were  numbered  and  that  the  object  of  his  recent  editorial 
efforts  had  been  attained.  .The  President's  determination  to 
adhere  to  the  Compromise  Tariff  of  1833  and  his  advocacy 
of  a  "fiscal  agency"  as  a  depository  for  the  federal  moneys, 
could  never  be  reconciled  with  Clay's  schemes  for  a  protec 
tive  tariff  and  a  revival  of  the  national  bank.  But  Ritchie 
sought  no  compromise  or  alliance  with  either  faction.  When 
the  indignant  Whigs  of  Richmond,  Norfolk,  and  other  points 
in  Virginia  rose  in  mass  to  condemn  Tyler's  vetoes  of  Clay's 
measures  and  to  honor  their  idol  by  a  legislative  act  perpet 
uating  his  name  in  that  of  a  county  of  the  Old  Dominion, 
Ritchie  exulted.  He  was  witnessing  the  death  throes  of  the 
hated  Whig  party,  and,  to  make  the  work  of  the  executioner 
in  Virginia  more  complete  by  alienating  completely  the  strict 
constructionists,  he  continued  to  praise  Tyler's  vetoes  and 
to  assure  him  of  the  support  of  the  Democratic  party  and  of 
the  undying  gratitude  of  Virginia.8  His  private  corre 
spondence  shows,  however,  that  he  already  regarded  Tyler 
as  "driftwood  upon  the  stormy  sea  of  Whig  politics"  and  as 
the  destined  leader  of  a  forlorn  and  hopeless  third  party.9 

The  first  regular  session  of  Congress  under  the  Whig 
regime  only  widened  the  breach  which  the  special  session 
(had  made  in  their  party,  but  the  reaction  to  Clay  and  his 
nationalistic  policies  was  so  pronounced  as  to  alarm  "old 
state  rights"  men.  Blinded  to  the  advantages  of  a  "union 
of  Whigs  for  the  sake  of  the  Union"  and,  despite  their  pro 
tests  to  the  contrary,  eager  for  the  spoils  of  office,  the  Whigs, 
now  in  control  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  refused 
to  pass  resolutions  condemning  the  national  bank  and  a  pro- 

1  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  14,  1841;     Ibid.,  August  24,  1841. 
8  Ibid.,  July  20,  1841;  Ibid.,  August  17,  24,  1841:  Ibid.,  September 
24,  1841. 

•  John  P.  Branch  Historical  Papers,  III.,  247. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  225 

tective  tariff,  or  to  take  any  stand  upon  the  subject  of  fed 
eral  relations.10  Fearing  the  eternal  disgrace  which  he 
thought  must  follow,  should  Virginia  go  on  record  as  favor 
ing  these  things,  Kitchie  pled  for  the  Virginia  doctrines  as 
never  before  and  at  once  placed  himself  in  greater  harmony 
with  the  record  and  policies  of  his  own  party.  Although  ad 
hering  to  the  state  banks  as  suitable  depositories  for  the 
federal  moneys,  he  was  now  willing  to  divorce  them  from 
politics  and  to  give  the  country  a  metallic  currency  in  so 
far  as  that  desired  end  could  be  effected  by  substituting 
coins  for  paper  notes  of  small  denominations. 

The  end  of  his  first  regular  session  of  Congress,  also, 
found  Tyler  and  his  guard  without  a  party.  Although  Clay 
was  about  to  retire  to  private  life,  he  was  everywhere  re 
garded  as  the  real  leader  of  the  Whig  party,  and  his  retire 
ment  was  looked  upon  as  a  grooming  for  the  presidency. 
The  circumstances  presented  an  opportunity,  however,  to 
rally  a  party  around  the  President.  To  this  end  an  effort 
was  made  in  administrative  circles  to  classify  all  voters  as 
adhering  either  to  the  administration  or  to  the  opposition, 
and  the  Madisonian,  the  organ  of  the  defunct  Conservative 
party,  was  accepted  as  the  mouth-piece  of  the  administration. 
Numerous  mass  meetings  were  also  held,  particularly  in 
Virginia,  at  which  letters  were  read  from  Tyler,  Wise,  Up- 
shur,  and  Gilmer.  But  all  efforts  to  adjust  party  align 
ments  by  executive  dictum  were  futile,  and  resulted  only  in 
placing  the  President  at  the  head  of  the  expected  "forlorn 
and  forsaken"  third  party  which  Ritchie  now  pronounced  as 
impossible  as  the  "third  estate  in  the  Empire."11 

With  the  Whigs  rent  asunder  both  locally  and  nationally, 
Ritchie  considered  the  time  opportune  for  the  Democrats  to 
reclaim  Virginia.  "Sentinel  must  answer  sentinel,"  said 
he,  "until  the  contest  is  over."12  On  the  eve  of  the  state 
election  Tyler  had  sent  a  special  message  to  Congress  recom- 

10  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  13,  22,  1842. 

11  Ibid.,  February  26,  1842. 

12  Ritchie  MS8.,  Ritchie  to  Charles  Campbell,  April  6,  1842. 


226  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

mending  a  repeal  of  the  federal  law  providing  for  a  distribu 
tion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  land  sales.  This  came  as 
a  blow  to  the  Whigs  of  western  Virginia,  who  had  expected 
to  use  their  part  of  this  fund  for  internal  improvements  and 
free  schools.13  Their  consequent  defection  and  the  inability 
of  Wise,  Upshur,  and  Tyler  to  hold  their  following  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  paved  the  way  for  a  brilliant  and 
decisive  victory  for  the  Democrats.  The  growing  pro-south 
ern  sentiment,  that  sentiment  which  was  later  to  ripen  into 
a  passion  for  Texas,  contributed  materially  to  the  Democratic 
success.  Counties  in  the  Tidewater,  hitherto  W'hig  and 
Federalist,  now  gave  Democratic  majorities  for  the  first 
time  in  their  history.  It  marked  the  beginning  of  that 
movement  which  at  important  crises  was  to  make  Virginia  a 
united  pro-slavery  state  under  the  leadership  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  As  Ritchie  said,  "The  fiery  cross  has  indeed 
passed  over  the  state  and  the  Republican  clans  have  rushed 
to  the  rescue.'7 14 

In  recognition  of  his  services  in  this  and  other  cam 
paigns  Ritchie's  name  was  perpetuated  in  that  of  a  new 
county  in  the  trans- Alleghany ; 15  his  name  was  frequently 
used  in  connection  with  the  vice-presidency;.16  and  friends 
far  and  near  supported  the  Enquirer  more  liberally  than 
ever  before  in  a  gracious  effort  to  relieve  the  financial  em 
barrassments  of  its  editor.17 

Under  the  disintegrating  influences  of  the  Whig  party 
and  the  reviving  hopes  of  the  Democrats,  the  presidential 
succession  began  to  be  of  concern  to  the  latter.  Though 
formidable  Clay  was  not  feared,  and  Van  Buren  was  dis 
credited  by  his  defeat  in  1840.  Regardless  of  Jackson's 
desire  to  have  the  succession  pass  to  Benton  after  Van  Buren 
had  done  with  it,  the  followers  of  Calhoun  in  Virginia,  in- 

18  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  29,  1842. 

"Ibid.,  May  10,  1842. 

"Ibid.,  March  2,  1843. 

™IUd.,  March  2,  1843;   Van  Buren  MS8. 

"Ibid.,  November  18,  1842;  Ibid.,  December  2,  1842. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  227 

spired  by  the  Texas  fever  which  was  becoming  chronic  with 
them,  began  to  groom  their  favorite  for  the  race.  He  was 
put  forward  as  the  one  candidate  upon  whom  the  "Tyler 
Whigs,"  now  in  ridicule  sometimes  called  "Ritchie  Whigs," 
and  the  Democrats  of  eastern  Virginia  could  unite.  His  pro- 
southern  program  was  attractive  to  them,  and  his  followers 
realized  that  there  was  now  a  chance  of  removing  the  long 
standing  objection  of  Virginia  to  his  ambitions.  Little  fear 
was  entertained  regarding  the  course  of  the  voters  in  the 
western  counties.  They  had  ever  been  willing  to  swallow 
diluted  doses  of  strict  construction,  and  they  now  lived  under 
the  illusion  that  the  preservation  of  the  Union  which  they 
loved  depended  upon  the  preservation  of  negro  slavery.  Be 
sides  they  had  always  T}een  ardent  expansionists,  and,  with 
Texas  as  an  issue,  they  were  willing  to  follow  the  standard 
of  any  man  who  favored  its  annexation.  Accordingly  copies 
of  a  "Life  of  Calhoun,"  written  by  himself  but  fathered  by 
R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  were  distributed  freely;  newspapers  in 
the  south  side  placed  Calhoun  and  Silas  Wright  in  nomina 
tion  for  the  presidency  and  vic^-presideticy  respectively; 
and  Calhoun  himself  addressed  an  enthusiastic  following  at 
Petersburg.18 

But  the  friends  of  Van  Buren  in  both  the  eastern  and 
the  western  counties  were  not  willing  to  be  brushed  aside 
thus  ruthlessly.  The  fact  that  both  Jackson  and  Benton  re 
mained  favorable  to  his  candidacy  was  a  power  in  his  favor 
in  all  sections.  His  friends  were  quick  to  detect  the  "con 
certed  efforts"  of  the  Calhoun  men  and  equally  quick  in  their 
efforts  to  annul  them.19  George  C.  Dromgoole  and  Thomas 
Jefferson  Randolph,  two  of  the  most  active  and  effective 
leaders  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  lined  up  behind  his  candi 
dacy,  while  James  McDowell  now  one  of  the  most  popular 
leaders  in  the  whole  state  and  in  constant  communication 
with  his  brother-in-law,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  led  the  Van 
Buren  foices  in  the  western  counties.  The  movement  for 

13  Richmond  Enquirer,  September,  1842. 

19  Van  Buren  M88.,  Benton  to  Van  Buren,  April  17,  1842. 


228  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

Texas  seems  not  to  have  entered  into  their  calculations,  and 
they  now  demanded  the  renomination  of  their  favorite  as  a 
matter  of  right  and  justice. 

William  H.  Roane  wrote  that  Ritchie  was  put  into  "a 
mrrow  place"  by  these  rival  candidacies.20  At  all  times 
Democratic  success  was  uppermost  in  his  mind,  and  there 
was  no  gainsaying  the  fact  that  its  successes  of  1841,  in  Vir 
ginia,  had  been  due  to  an  active  co-operation  between  the 
C'alhoun  and  the  Van  Buren  factions  of  the  party.  In 
recognition  of  this  fact  Ritchie  had  not  "for  a  long  time 
breathed  a  sentiment  of  the  slightest  hostility  to  John  C. 
Calhoun,"21  and  he  had  even  praised  his  genius,  his  past 
services,  and  his  recent  espousal  of  the  true  republican  doc 
trines  of  '98.  The  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Mercury  made  bold 
to  enlist  him  among  those  who  favored  Calhoun  for  the  suc 
cession.22 

But  the  Richmond  Whig  came  nearer  the  truth  in  its 
prediction  that  "the  past  could  not  be  forgotten"  and  that 
"Ritchie  will  not  support  the  favorite  of  the  South."  Be 
sides  the  Whig  rule  had  necessitated  the  return  of  his  friend 
Stevenson  from  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  Ritchie  now 
hoped  to  make  him  vice-president,  governor  of  Virginia,  or 
a  member  of  the  federal  Senate.  He  preferred  the  vice- 
presidency  for  his  friend,  because  such  a  promotion  would 
not  run  counter  to  McDowell's  ambitions  to  reach  the 
Senate  or  the  governor's  chair.  He  also  saw  the  impossi 
bility  of  taking  both  the  candidate  for  the  presidency  and 
the  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency  from  the  South.  Ac 
cordingly  his  preferences  were  for  Van  Buren  for  the  first 
place  and  Stevenson  for  the  second,  but  he  did  not  dare 
openly  to  express  a  preference.  In  the  strictest  confidence 
and  on  the  very  eve  of  the  gubernatorial  election,  in  Decem 
ber,  1842,  he  did,  however,  declare  himself  to  John  Letcher, 
McDowell's  close  friend  and  political  representative,  as 

20  Van  Buren  HSS.,  W.  H.   Roane  to  Silas  Wright,  February   14, 
1843. 

21  Richmond  Enquirer,  August  12,  1842. 
"Ibid.,  December  8,  1842. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  229 

favorable  to  Van  Buren' s  candidacy  for  the  presidency  and 
McDowell's  candidacy  for  the  governorship,  and  promised, 
furthermore,  to  declare  himself  openly  for  Van  Buren  after 
the  spring  elections  of  1843.  Considerations  of  Texas  seem 
also  not  to  have  entered  his  mind  at  this  stage  of  the  cam 
paign. 

The  first  hand  to  hand  contest  between  the  rival  factions 
within  the  party  came  in  the  Democratic  State  Convention 
held  in  Richmond  on  March  2,  1843.  Led  by  James  A. 
Seddon,  the  friends  of  Calhoun  favored  the  latest  possible 
date  for  holding  the  national  Democratic  convention,  May, 
1844,  and  insisted  that  the  delegates  thereto  should  be  elected 
by  congressional  districts  and  that  each  delegate  should  have 
a  vote  on  the  floor  of  the  convention.  Led  by  George  C. 
Dromgoole,  the  followers  of  Van  Buren  favored  the  earliest 
possible  date  for  the  convention,  December,  1843,  and  ad 
hered  to  the  old  method  of  appointing  delegates  thereto  by 
state  conventions  and  of  allowing  a  majority  of  the  dele 
gates  from  each  state  to  cast  the  vote  of  that  state.23  It  was 
the  old  but  ever  recurring  fight  between  the  organization  and 
the  anti-organization  forces.  The  former  pled  for  an  early 
nomination  to  prevent  sectional  and  personal  jealousies 
which  they  feared  would  arise  in  the  next  session  of  Con 
gress.  On  the  other  hand,  Calhoun's  friends  desired  a  late 
nomination  for  directly  opposite  reasons.  Their  only  hope 
lay  in  the  occurrence  of  the  very  things  which  the  -other 
faction  feared.  There  were  great  possibilities  in  the  Texas 
issue,  and  Calhoun's  friends  expected  the  South  to  line  up 
against  Van  Buren  on  the  tariff,  even  if  Texas  did  not  be 
come  an  issue.  The  friends  of  Van  Buren  succeeded  in  con 
trolling  the  convention  and  won  all  the  points  for  which  they 
contended.24 

The  action  of  the  Democrats  in  Virgnia  came  as  a  sting 
ing  defeat  to  Calhoun's  friends  everywhere.  Naturally 

"Richmond  Enquirer,   March   7,   1843. 

"  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  7,  11,  1843;  Calhoun  Correspondence, 
Am.  Hist,  Asso.  Kept.  (1899),  II.,  p.  516. 


230  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

Ritchie  received  their  severest  criticism.  The  Charleston 
Mercury  claimed  that  he  had  everything  cut  and  dried  for 
Van  Buren  days  before  the  convention  was  held.  In  a  long 
editorial  Ritchie  denied  the  charge  hut  admitted  his  "deep 
interest  in  the  contest.'725  The  Mercury  would  not  be 
appeased  and  defiantly  placed  at  the  head  of  its  editorial 
column  "JOHN  C.  CALHOUN,,  FOR  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  subject  to  the  decision  of  a  national  convention  to 
be  held  in  May,  1844." 2G  It  was  thus  evident  that  the  con 
test  in  Virginia  was  to  be  continued. 

The  next  tilt  between  the  rival  factions  came  in  the  elec 
tions  of  April,  1843.  From  the  beginning  the  friends  of 
Calhoun  despaired  of  success,  and  they  made  a  strategic 
mistake  by  even  entering  the  contest.  They  insisted  that 
the  Assembly  had  so  gerrymandered  the  state  as  to  prevent 
the  election  of  representatives  to  Congress  or  of  delegates 
to  a  national  convention,  who  would  be  friendly  to  Calhoun's 
candidacy.  Their  consequent  apathy  injured  only  them 
selves  and  in  a  way  they  could  ill  afford.  William  O.  Goode 
was  defeated  by  George  C.  Dromgoole  for  a  renomination 
for  election  to  Congress ;  R.  M.  T.  Hunter  failed  in  his  con 
test  for  a  re-election;  and  William  Smith  (Extra  Billy) 
went  down  to  defeat  before  a  Whig,  Samuel  Chilton.27  As 
a  result  Calhoun  had  not  a  friend  in  Virginia's  representa 
tion  in  Congress,  except  those  who  were  also  friendly  to 
Tyler.  Apparently  the  pro-southern  cause  had  been  de 
feated,  but  this  contest,  so  far,  was  more  personal  than  politi 
cal  ;  more  anti-Calhoun  than  anti-slavery  or  anti-Texas. 

True  to  his  promises  and  in  response  to  earnest  solicita 
tions,  Ritchie  now  openly  committed  himself  to  the  candidacy 
of  Van  Buren.  A  few  weeks  before  he  had  associated  with 
himself,  as  joint  editors  of  the  Enquirer,  his  two  sons,  Wil 
liam  F.  and  Thomas,  Jr.,  but  he  now  desired  it  to  be  clearly 

"Richmond  Enquirer,  March  18,  1843. 
MIbid.,  April  4,  1843. 

"Richmond  Enquirer,  April  7,  1843:  Ibid.,  April  16,  19,  1843; 
Ibid.,  June  13,  1843. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  231 

understood  that  it  was  not  only  "the  boys"  but  Father  Ritchie 
as  well,  who  desired  the  election  of  the  "Little  Magician."28 
This  open  stand  was  immediately  felt  in  all  directions,  and 
many  southern  prints  attacked  the  Richmond  Enquirer  with 
out  mercy.29  With  few  exceptions  the  press  of  Virginia  fol 
lowed  its  course.  The  Abingdon  Banner  reminded  the  public 
of  Calhoun's  record  in  the  days  of  Nullification  and  added 
that  "it  would  be  'carrying  coals  to  New  Castle'  to  offer 
reasons  and  considerations  to  the  voters  of  Little  Tennessee 
why  they  should  support  Martin  Van  Buren."30  The  Wood 
stock  Sentinel  went  for  "Martin  Van  Buren  and  short  Dutch 
cabbage  against  the  world."31  The  conditions  and  Ritchie's 
ideas  of  the  freedom  of  the  press  were  such,  however,  that 
he  admitted  freely  to  the  columns  of  his  paper  communica 
tions  from  those  favorable  to  Calhoun7  s  candidacy.  He  thus 
also  thwarted  the  movement  to  establish  a  rival  press  in 
Richmond. 

r~  *  Their  other  political  reverses  and  the  open  hostility  of 
I  Ritchie  did  not  deter  the  followers  of  Calhoun  in  Virginia, 
wrho  at  all  times  were  conspicuous  for  their  zeal  and  enthu 
siasm.  Accordingly  they  flooded  the  state  with  another  ava 
lanche  of  speeches;  "Calhoun's  Plenipotentiary,"  Rhett, 
made  another  visit  to  "Van  Buren's  Secretary  of  the  South 
ern  Department,"  Ritchie;32  from  the  press  of  South  Caro 
lina  went  up  a  sigh  for  "the  proud  Old  Dominion  under  the 
feet  of  the  Empire  State;"33  talk  of  a  refusal  to  abide  by 
the  decision  of  a  national  convention  and  of  throwing  the 
presidential  election  into  the  House  of  Representatives  was 
heard  in  the  Calhoun  camp.  But  it  was  evident  to  all  that 
without  some  paramount  issue  their  cause  was  doomed  to 


28  Richmond  Enquirer,  July  18,  1843. 
"Ibid.,  September  15,  19,  1843. 
10  Ibid.,  August  12,  22,  1843. 
"Ibid.,  July  27,   1843;    Ibid.,  August   1,   1843. 
32  Ibid.,  September  15,  1843. 

"  Calhoun  Correspondence,  Am.  Hist.  Asso.  Kept.    (1899),  II.,  pp. 
527,   536. 


232  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

failure,  and  that  Van  Buren  would  secure  a  third  nomination. 
Fortunately  the  issue  was  at  hand.  British  interference 
in  Texas  and  her  consequent  refusal  to  discuss  further  pro 
positions  for  annexation  to  the  United  States  aroused  the 
•dormant  fears  of  all  parties  and  shook  off  their  apathy  re 
garding  that  country.  Texas  had  thus  become  a  national 
and  not  a  factional  issue.  Chief  interest  naturally  centered 
in  the  South.  Only  ten  years  before  England  had  freed  the 
slaves  in  her  West  India  possessions,  and  southern  statemen, 
especially  Calhoun  and  Upshur,  now  attributed  her  activities 
in  Texas  to  a  desire  for  the  abolition  of  negro  slavery 
not  only  there  but  also  in  the  United  States.  Tyler  and 
Upsbur,  now  Secretary  of  State,  decided  to  forestall  Eng 
lish  interference  by  more  active  efforts  to  conclude  a  treaty 
for  the  annexation  of  Texas.  Incidentally  they  hoped  to 
rally  the  friends  of  the  administration  in  an  effort  to  arrest 
the  President's  declining  political  fortunes.  But  his  closest 
friends  played  fast  and  loose  with  him  and  Calhoun,  and  the 
followers  of  the  latter  decided  to  steal  Tyler's  political  thun 
der.  In  the  hope  of  committing  Jackson  to  the  annexation 
of  Texas  and  with  a  possible  view,  also,  to  turning  the  politi 
cal  tables  against  Van  Buren  who,  it  was  rumored,  had  agreed 
secretly  with  Clay  to  keep  Texas  out  of  the  campaign  of 
1844,  a  letter  written  by  Gilmer  on  the  annexation  of  Texas 
had  been  sent  to  the  aOld  Hero"  early  in  1843.  His  reply, 
which  urged  the  advantage  of  annexation  from  a  military 
point  of  view  and  contemplated  no  sinister  motives  on  the 
part  of  his  informants,  was  forthcoming,  but  it  was  as  readily 
laid  by  for  future  use.  Mistrusting  Van  Buren's  attitude 
toward  Texas  and  conscious  of  its  growing  importance  as  a 
political  issue,  they  had  in  hand  the  material  which  would 
alienate  a  large  part  of  Jackson's  following  from  him.  Ac 
cordingly  It  was  planned  to  commit  Van  Buren  against  an 
nexation  by  skillful  interrogations  and  to  use  his  answers 
and  the  Jackson  letter  at  the  psychological  time  to  destroy 
his  candidacy.34  , 

14  Van  Buren  M88.,  John  Letcher  to  Ritchie,  September  23,  1843. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  233 

But  the  friends  of  Van  Buren  in  Virginia  were  on  the 
alert  and  quickly  apprised  their  chieftain  of  the  schemes 
of  the  rival  faction.  They  knew  that  negotiations  for  the 
annexation  of  Texas  were  already  in  progress  and  now  saw 
in  the  tactics  to  defeat  their  favorite  only  the  proverbial 
straw  in  the  sight  of  a  drowning  man.  Ritchie  insisted, 
therefore,  that  the  midst  of  a  presidential  election  was  not 
a  propitious  time  for  the  "free  discussion  and  calm  consid 
eration  of  so  vital  a  subject."35  At  the  same  time  William 
H.  Roane  wrote  to  Van  Buren  that  he  had  "long  opposed  the 
annexation  of  Texas,"  and  that  he  now  saw  "nothing  to 
change  his  min;d."  There  is  no  denying,  however,  that 
Texas  was,  even  now,  a  subject  of  the  greatest  concern  to 
Ritchie  and  his  friends,  and  that  they  were  deeply  concerned 
in  the  probable  attitude  of  their  candidate  toward  it.  In 
the  same  letter,  in  which  he  showed  such  indifference  to 
ward  Texas,  Roane  either  displayed  unpardonable  ignorance 
or  resorted  to  poor  politics,  when  he  informed  Van  Buren 
that  "neither  Ritchie  nor  I  recollect  your  position  in  regard 
to  it"  (Texas),  and  assured  him  that  any  information  on  the 
subject  "would  be  regarded  in  the  strictest  confidence."36 
Although  Van  Buren  ignored  all  reference  to  Texas  in  his 
reply  to  Roane,  there  are  no  signs  of  a  dampened  ardor  on 
the  part  of  his  friends  in  Virginia.  The  General  Assembly, 
five  to  one,  remained  friendly  to  his  candidacy,  and  the  En 
quirer  continued  to  support  him  loyally. 

Calhoun's  friends  resolved  to  make  a  final  stand  in  the 
Democratic  State  Convention  which  met  in  Richmond,  Feb 
ruary  1,  1844.  Meanwhile,  R.  K.  Cralle,  Calhoun's  most 
ductile  protege  in  Virginia,  and  the  Petersburg  Intelligencer 
continued  to  complain  of  the  "petulance,"  "dotage,"  and 
"dictatorship"  of  Father  Ritchie.37  On  the  evening  before 
the  meeting  of  the  state  convention  Calhoun's  address  to  his 


85  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  10,  1843;   Van  Buren  MSS.,  Steven 
son  to  Van  Buren,  October  8,  1843. 

90  Van  Buren  MSS.,  Octo'ber  17,  1843. 
"Richmond  Enquirer,  January   18,   1844. 


234  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

"political  friends  and  supporters"  was  made  public  in  Rich 
mond.  It  openly  repudiated  Van  Buren  but  also  resigned 
his  own  candidacy  for  the  presidency.  The  effect  was  not 
to  stampede  the  convention  as  some  had  expected.  Both 
friends  and  antagonists  took  the  address  seriously  and  re 
solved  to  support  the  nominee  of  the  Democratic  party.38 
Had  not  the  negotiations  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  by 
treaty  been  nearing  a  successful  completion,  the  effect  of  this 
ultimatum  might  have  been  different.  It  certainly  proves 
that  little  was  expected  from  any  coup  d'etat  in  the  nomina 
tion  for  the  presidency. 

From  a  scene  of  expected  strife  the  Democratic  State 
Convention  was  thus  converted  into  a  love  feast.  Although 
unwilling  to  be  responsible  for  the  effects  of  Van  Buren's 
nomination,  Calhoun's  friends  practically  conceded  it  and  for 
political  reasons  were  now  ready  to  vote  for  him.  In  return 
the  convention  adopted  conciliatory  resolutions  and  placed 
adherents  of  both  factions  on  the  electoral  ticket.39 

In  the  only  important  political  speech  of  a  life  devoted 
almost  exclusively  to  directing  political  movements,  Ritchie 
welcomed  this  return  of  political  accord  and  assumed  full 
responsibility  for  the  results.40  The  next  number  of  the 
Enquirer  proclaimed  the  Democratic  party  of  Virginia  "one 
and  indivisible"  and  announced  that  "the  Ark  .  . 
which  has  been  agitated  on  the  billows  of  the  sea  of  liberty 

.  .  has  now  touched  the  summit  of  Mount  Ararat  —  the 
rainbow  of  peace  is  brightening  the  Heavens  —  and  the  Dove 
has  gone  forth  from  the  Ark  to  bring  back  the  Olive  Branch 
to  all  our  party."41  Calhoun  was  permanently  out  of  the 
race,  and  the  electoral  vote  of  both  Virginia  and  South 


98  Van  Buren  MSB.,  H.  A.  Garland  to  Van  Buren,  February  7, 
1844;  Ibid.,  W.  H.  Roane  to  Van  Buren,  February  3,  1844:  Richmond 
Enquirer,  1,  6,  1844. 


Ibid.,  February  6,  1844. 

Richmond  Enquirer,  Fe 
lk,  February  6,  1844. 

41  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  3,  1844. 


40  Richmond  Enquirer,  February  6,  1844;  Polk  MSS.,  Cave  Johnson 
to  Polk,  February  6,  1844. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  235 

Carolina  was  counted  for  Van  Buren.42  On  the  other  hand 
it  was  currently  rumored  and  generally  believed  that  Ritchie 
and  his  associates  had  committed  themselves  to  Calhoun  for 
the  succession  in  1848.  Although  he  later  denied  these 
rumors,  Ritchie  now  let  them  pass  unnoticed. 

The  readiness  with  which  Calhoun' s  friends  gave  up  on 
this  occasion  was  surprising,  but  their  course  was  not  wholly 
disinterested.  Loyalty  to  their  chieftain  had  sent  Hunter, 
Goode,  Gordon,  and  Smith  down  to  defeat  in  1843,  and  they 
were  now  doing  yeoman  service  to  avert  their  own  ruin. 
Even  Wise  and  others  of  the  "corporal's  guard,"  who  had 
guided  and  misguided  Tyler,  were  now  ready  to  give  up 
Calhoun  for  Van  Buren.  They  insisted  only  upon  the  nom 
ination  of  Polk  for  the  vice-presidency,  thus  seeking  to 
thwart  Ritchie's  plans  for  his  friend  Stevenson. 

The  days  immediately  following  the  Democratic  State 
Convention  were  full  of  surprises.  The  opportunity  to  make 
political  capital  of  Texas  had  come,  and,  as  was  so  frequently 
the  case  in  other  things,  Calhoun  was  not  in  a  position  to 
profit  by  it.  The  negotiations  for  annexation  by  treaty 
dragged  on,  and  there  began  to  be  doubt  about  the  attitude 
of  the  federal  Senate  toward  any  treaty  for  that  purpose. 
Moreover,  the  publication  of  Senator  Walker's  letter  on  "re- 
annexation"  made  it  impossible  for  Ritchie  and  his  friends 
to  maintain  silence  on  so  important  a  subject.  There  were 
many  possible  conditions,  any  one  of  which  would  inject 
Texas  into  the  campaign  as  the  leading  issue.  In  a  letter  to 
James  K.  Polk,  Aaron  V.  Brown  expressed  what  was  also 
the  sentiment  of  most  Virginians  in  the  following  words: 
"If  the  negro  question  (Texas)  is  settled  wrong  &  if  nothing 
can  be  done  with  the  Tariff,  we  are  a  lost  &  doomed  party."43 

But  there  is  no  evidence  that  Ritchie  and  his  associates 
even  now  deserted  Van  Buren  or  that  they  entered  into  any 
scheme  to  snatch  the  nomination  from  him  by  stealth.  They 
had  trusted  the  northern  man  with  southern  principles  in 

41  Van  Buren  M88.,  B.  H.  Rhett  to  Van  Buren,  February  26,  1844. 
49  Polk  M88.,  February  25,  1844. 


236  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

18*36,  and  they  felt  that  they  could  do  so  again  even  under  the 
changed  circumstances.  Calhoun  had  been  beaten,  and  Van 
Buren  had  always  been  willing  to  play  politics.  Nor  is  it 
at  all  certain  that  Ritchie  desired  from  him  a  public  utter 
ance  of  his  attitude  on  Texas.  He  knew  that  the  Democrats 
could  not  win  without  the  electoral  votes  of  New  York  and 
other  northern  states,  and  he  also  knew  that  there  was  a 
large  and  growing  sentiment  in  those  states  against  the  an 
nexation  of  Texas.  He  did,  however,  desire  to  convince  Van 
Buren  of  the  importance  of  the  new  issue  and  to  make  it 
impossible  for  him  to  go  against  Texas,  should  it  be  brought 
into  the  campaign  for  the  presidency.  To  this  end  he  wrote 
Silas  Wright,  Van  Buren's  closet  political  friend  and  ad 
viser,  as  follows: 

"I  send  you  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  I  received  last  night 
from  Washington: 

"  'March  17 — The  Texas  Question  is  destined  to  succeed.  I  think 
the  treaty  when  made  will  certainly  be  ratified.  .  .  .  To 
morrow  evening  a  decisive  article  will  appear  in  the  Globe.  General 
Jackson  is  most  heartily  with  us,  and  will  go  the  whole.  He  is  the 
originator  of  this  movement  and  will  see  it  through.  Unless  forced  to 
do  so  we  must  not  make  this  a  party  question.  Unless  there  is  great 
imprudence  or  folly,  Van  Buren  will  be  elected,  but  if  he  goes  against 
Texas  (which  I  deem  impossible)  all  is  lost. 

"  'I  would  send  you  the  original,  but  it  is  marked  'confidential/ 
The  writer  is  a  member  of  Congress  and  a  friend  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
Be  so  good  as  to  consider  its  contents  confidential,  with  the  reserva 
tion  only,  that  if  you  think  it  best,  you  may  communicate  them  to 
Mr.  V.  B.  I  leave  that  disposition  of  them  to  your  own  discretion.'  "*4 

Two  days  later  and  under  date  of  February  12,  1844, 
instead  of  its  correct  date,  February  12,  1843,  Ritchie  pub 
lished  General  Jackson's  letter  to  Aaron  V.  Brown,  which 
had  been  called  forth  by  Gilmer's  letter  and  to  which  refer 
ence  has  already  been  made.45  This  anachronism  and  the 
subsequent  developments  have  caused  historians  to  give 
greater  credence  to  the  alleged  existence  of  the  above  men 
tioned  plot  to  keep  the  nomination  from  Van  Buren,  and 
such  writers  have  not  hesitated  to  connect  Van  Buren's  friends 

44  Van  Buren  MS 8.,  Ritchie  to  Silas  Wright,  March  20,  1844. 
40  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  22,   1844. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  237 

in  Virginia  with  the  conspiracy.46  Recent  discoveries  in 
the  Van  Buren  manuscripts  reveal,  however,  the  fact  that 
W.  H.  Roane  had,  five  months  before  the  publication  of 
Jackson's  letter  to  Brown  in  the  Enquirer,  informed  Van 
Buren  of  the  existence  of  such  a  letter  and  of  the  use  pro 
posed  to  be  made  of  it.47  Writers  connecting  Ritchie  with 
the  alleged  plot  also  overlooked  the  fact  that  he  himself 
corrected,  in  the  very  next  issue  of  the  Enquirer,  the  typo 
graphical  error  made  in  the  original  publication  of  the  Jack 
son  letter  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  an  error  had 
been  made.48  Whatever  plots  the  "corporal's  guard"  may 
have  been  in,  it  is  almost  certain  that  Ritchie  continued 
loyal  to  Van  Buren  and  that  he  hoped  to  keep  Texas  out  of 
the  presidential  campaign  as  a  complicating  issue. 

Neither  the  publication  of  Jackson's  letter  nor  the  timely 
warning  to  Wright  had  the  desired  effect  to  convert  Van 
Buren  to  the  expediency  of  favoring  annexation.  The  pact 
with  Clay  had  to  be  kept;  and  Silas  Wright  counseled  an 
other  course.  Meanwhile  it  had  become  impossible  to  keep 
Texas  from  becoming  an  issue  in  the  campaign.  In  his 
famous  "Raleigh  Letter,"  Clay  had  declared  against  annex 
ation  after  a  triumphal  tour  through  the  South;  the  north 
ern  as  well  as  the  southern  press  was  full  of  comments  upon 
Texas;  and  the  legislatures  of  northern  states  were  going 
on  record  as  opposed  to  annexation.  Van  Buren's  letter 
casting  hi"1  lot  with  Clay  and  against  the  pro-southern  pro 
gram  reached  Richmond  on  April  30th,  when  the  Junto  was 
receiving  the  news  of  an  unsuccessfully  contested  election 
for  members  of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  effect  of  Van  Buren's  letter  upon  Richmond  as  upon 
the  whole  South  was  thrilling.  With  both  of  the  presidential 
candidates  opposed  to  annexation,  the  indications  were  that 

48  See  Alexander,  Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  II., 
p.  66;  Hammond,  Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  III., 
p.  447;  McLaughlin,  Cass,  p.  215;  Shepherd,  Van  Buren,  pp.  401-406, 
etc.,  etc. 

47  Van  Buren  MSS.,  Roane  to  Van  Buren,  October  17,  1843. 

48  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  26,  1844. 


238  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

the  Senate  would  reject  the  pending  treaty  and  that  Texas 
would  be  lost.  The  prospective  market  for  negroes,  then 
of  consideration  to  Virginians,  would  be  cut  off,  and  the 
possibilities  for  a  greater  nationality  would  be  blighted.  To 
a  race  of  expansionists,  who,  like  Ritchie,  now  desired  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  as  a  military  basis  for  holding  and  gov 
erning  the  West,  this  was  a  sad  disappointment.  The  effect 
of  the  letter  is  best  described  in  Roane's  immediate  reply  to 
it.  "Your  letter  to  Mr.  Hammett,"  said  he,  "is  just  received 
here  and  has  caused  a  sensation  and  is  likely  to  produce  an 
effect  which  no  paper  has  caused  or  produced  within  my 
knowledge."  He  also  informed  Van  Buren  that  the  publi 
cation  of  his  letter  two  weeks  earlier  would  have  given  the 
House  of  Delegates  to  the  Whigs  by  thirty  or  forty  majority 
and  added,  "you  cannot  (I  am  grieved  to  the  heart  to  think) 
carry  this  state  next  fall.  Whether  any  Democrat  can,  God 
only  knows."49 

The  members  of  the  Junto  were  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
to  do.  Various  courses  were  suggested.  Finally  it  was  de 
cided  to  hold  a  meeting  of  the  Democratic  Association  in  its 
hall  on  Shockoe  Hill.  At  this  meeting  Ritchie  was  supreme. 
He  drew,  offered,  and  secured  the  adoption  of  resolutions 
which  declared  that  the  immediate  re-annexation  of  Texas 
was  a  measure  required  by  the  best  interests  of  the  Union, 
that  annexation  was  consistent  with  the  soundest  principles 
of  international  law ;  that  the  efforts  being  made  in  the  North 
by  Albert  Gallatin  and  others  to  prevent  the  acquisition  of 
more  slave  territory  would,  if  successful,  place  the  South 
under  the  ban  of  the  republic ;  that  the  commercial  and  abo 
litionist  activities  of  Great  Britain  in  Texas  furnished  strong 
and  additional  grounds  why  we  should  repossess  ourselves 
of  that  country;  that  Clay's  letter  opposing  annexation  was 
an  attack  upon  the  institution  of  negro  slavery,  and  that  the 
Democrats  of  Virginia  be  at  once  urged  to  express  their 
opinion  on  the  subject  of  Texas  and  on  the  propriety  of  re 
lieving  their  delegates  to  the  Baltimore  convention  of  their 

49  Van  Buren  M88.,  April  30,  1844. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  239 

instructions.50  Though  he  did  not  mention  Van  Buren  by 
name  this  was  his  first  repudiation  of  him,  and  it  came 
openly  and  publicly. 

While  the  meeting  was  in  session  on  Shockoe  Hill  an 
admirer  sent  Van  Buren  the  following  anonymous  letter:51 

RICHMOND,  May  1,  1844. 
"My  Dear  Sir: 

"You  are  deserted.  Ritchie,  Roane,  Stevenson  are  all  out  against 
you  on  the  Texas  question ;  positively,  openly,  and  unequivocally 
against  you.  Arrangements  are  now,  at  this  very  hour,  being  made 
to  take  up  some  other  candidate,  and  of  this  be  assured,  if  there  be  a 
God  in  Heaven. 

"A  faithful  follower  and  a  friend, 

"Q  IN  THE  CORNER. 
4    o'clock    P.    M." 

From  all  over  the  state  letters  began  to  pour  in  upon 
Ritchie  endorsing  his  course  in  the  Shockoe  Hill  meeting 
and  telling  why  Van  Buren  could  not  carry  Virginia  in  No 
vember.  With  many  the  feelings  of  friendship  for  him  were 
strong,  but  they  simply  considered  Him  unavailable.  Desir 
ing  to  be  perfectly  frank  and  to  apprise  him;  of  the  sentiment 
in  Virginia,  Ritchie,  on  May  5th,  sent  him  some  of  the  com 
munications  which  he  was  receiving  together  with  a  long 
personal  letter  from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken : 

"I  have  refrained  from  writing  you  a  single  letter,  during  the  pres 
ent  campaign,  and  I  deeply  regret,  that  the  first  one,  which  I  shall 
have  to  write,  would  be  one,  which  gives  me  as  much  pain  to  write,  as 
any  which  ever  came  from  my  pen.  I  need  not  tell  you,  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
the  feelings  which  I  entertain  toward  you.  Trusted  at  all  times  with 
a  kindness,  a  liberality,  a  distinction  far  beyond  my  merits,  I  have 
conceived  a  sentiment  toward  you,  which  partakes  not  more  of  confidence 
in  you  as  a  politician,  than  of  attachment  to  you  as  a  man.  I  have 
received  from  you  a  hundred  evidences  of  good  feeling,  which  have  left 
a  reciprocal  impression  upon  my  heart.  But  I  will  not  dwell  upon 
particulars,  nor  will  I  deal  in  any  profusions.  You  must  know  me 
well  enough  to  believe  them  unnecessary. 

"The  last  ten  days  have  produced  a  condition  of  political  affairs, 
which  I  had  not  believed  to  be  possible.  I  am  compelled  to  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  we  can  not  carry  Virginia  for  you.  We  have  lo?t, 
1  now  believe,  the  joint  vote  in  the  Legislature.  We  have  ten  majority 
in  the  Senate,  it  is  true,  but  in  the  H'.  of  Delegates,  where  we  had  a 

80  Washington  Union,  April  3,  1847. 
61  Van  Buren  MSS. 


240  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

majority  of  16  at  the  last  session,  the  Whigs  have  now  a  majority  of 
about  12.  But  I  do  not  attribute  so  much  importance  to  this  Revolu 
tion,  as  some  of  my  friends.  I  have  recovered  from  the  temporary 
panic,  which  is  so  natural  with  such  circumstances.  I  assure  you,  I  do 
not  write  you  under  the  influence  of  any  feeling,  which  might  cloud  my 
judgment.  But  I  write  you  under  the  effect  of  what  I  have  heard  from 
my  friends  and  what  they  write  me  about  your  Prospects  in  November 
next.  Judge  for  yourself,  Sir.  If  I  did  not  know  that  you  are  a  man 
of  honor,  I  would  not  put  the  enclosed  letters  in  your  hands.  Read 
them,  my  dear  Sir,  but  don't  preserve  their  names — take  no  copies  of 
them — but  return  me  the  originals.  I  will  have  no  half  confidence  with 
you — some  of  them  are  my  best  friends.  They  are  all  your  warm  friends. 
I  trust  them  in  your  hands,  for,  I  know  that  you  will  not  abuse  the 
confidence  I  am  now  reposing  in  you.  Read  them,  and  judge  for  your 
self.  I  am  most  anxious  to  spare  your  feelings,  if  I  can,  but  I  owe  to 
you,  as  my  friend,  as  the  friend  of  our  great  Principles,  to  let  you  see 
what  others  have  trusted  to  me,  that  you  may  determine  for  yourself. 

"Whom  we  can  get  to  supply  your  place,  I  know  not,  if  you  retire. 
You  will  see  what  my  Correspondents  say  on  that  point.  I  can  only 
tell  you,  that  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends  solemnly  disclaim  any  wish  to 
run  him — that  I  have  solemnly  protested  and  will  protest  against  any 
such  idea  as  that  and  that  I  am  actuated  by  no  other  motive  under 
Heaven,  than  the  desire  to  possess  you  of  the  views  which  these  letters 
express.  It  is  the  same  opinion,  which  is  entertained  by  gentlemen,  as 
staunch  republicans  as  any  in  the  state,  who  are  around  me,  who  have 
been  late  and  are  now  your  personal  and  political  friends."  52 

Ritchie's  admonitions  regarding  the  use  of  his  confi 
dences  were  unnecessary.  The  Van  Buren  Manuscripts  con 
tain  no  record  of  them  except  that  in  Ritchie's  own  letter 
from  which  the  above  extracts  have  been  taken.  The  stub 
born  and  wily  "Dutchman"  returned  them  at  once  without 
even  replying  to  the  personal  letter  which  accompanied 
them.53  The  insinuation  that  he  should  retire  for  a  man 
who  could  win  had  doubtless  added  insult  to  injury. 

Notwithstanding  his  indifference,  Van  Buren's  friends 
in  Virginia  continued  to  speak  kindly  of  him  and,  in  some 
instances,  to  support  Ms  candidacy.  In  a  public  letter 
George  C.  Dromgoole  condemned  the  action  of  the  Demo 
cratic  Association  of  Richmond;54  Calhoun's  friends  showed 
their  good  faith  in  an  address  denying  the  charges  of  unfair 
dealing  on  their  part  and  repudiating  any  alliances  with  the 

52  Van   Buren   MSS. 

B3  Richmond  Enquirer,   July   24,    1854. 

"Ibid.,  May  10,   W44. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  241 

aanti-Van  Buren  Clique"  at  Washington,  which  had  long 
plotted  his  overthrow ;  in  an  "Address  to  the  People  of  Vir- 
ginia"  the  Democratic  Central  Committee,  which  was  made 
up  largely  from  members  of  the  Junto,  praised  his  conscien 
tious  statesmanship  and  patriotism ;  and  Ritchie  himself 
promised  to  support  his  candidacy,  should  he  be  the  nominee 
of  the  Democratic  party.55 

After  the  horse  had  been  stolen,  with  the  stable  appar 
ently  locked,  it  was  indeed  a  time  for  "conciliation  and  com 
promise."  The  electoral  vote  of  Xew  York  was  worth  it, 
and  it  was  evident  to  all  that  the  tide  had  ebbed  never  to 
return,  and  that  neither  Dromgoole  nor  "a  hundred  Globes" 
could  stop  the  current  of  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  Texas.56 

The  choice  of  a  new  favorite  for  the  presidency  now  be 
came  a  matter  of  great  concern  at  Richmond.  Naturally 
many  turned  to  Calhoun  who,  as  Secretary  of  State  since  the 
untimely  death  of  Upshur,  was  doing  all  in  his  power  to  se 
cure  Texas,  but,  true  to  his  promise  to  Van  Buren,  Ritchie 
"solemnly  protested  .  .  .  against  any  such  idea  as  that." 
Benton,  Buchanan,  and  Coloned  R.  M.  Johnson  were  quickly 
eliminated  from  the  running,  as  each  had  only  a  small  local 
following,  and  Benton,  the  most  formidable  of  the  three,  was 
pledged  to  Van  Buren  to  the  end.  For  a  time  Silas  Wright 
was  looked  upon  with  favor.  He  combined  all  of  Van 
Buren's  political  strength,  being  a  northern  man  with  south 
ern  principles  and  Van  Buren's  closest  political  friend,  and 
it  was  thought  he  would  profit  by  his  friends'  mistakes  re 
garding  Texas.  But  Wright  declined  all  overtures.  Finally 
a  timely  letter  from  Cass  favoring  the  immediate  annexation 
of  Texas  made  him  the  favorite.  It  was  with  "great  pleas 
ure"  that  Ritchie  published  his  letter  in  full  in  the  Enquirer, 
but  he  very  cautiously  refrained  from  an  open  declaration 
in  his  favor,  expressing  himself  as  satisfied  with  any  "Texas 
Man."  There  can  be  doubt,  however,  that  Cass  was  already 
the  choice  of  Virginia.  His  famous  letter  on  Texas  had  put 

"Ibid.,   May   7,    1844. 

06  Ritchie  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Ho  well  Cobb,  May  6,  1844. 


242  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

him  into  the  class  of  northern  men  with  southern  principles, 
for  which  the  Virginians  had  a  peculiar  weakness,  and  he- 
sides  he  had  always  had  a  strong  local  following  in  the  west 
ern  counties,  in  one  of  which  he  had  won  a  bride  from  one  of 
the  most  aristocratic  and  influential  families. 

When  the  Demoocratic  Convention  met  in  Baltimore, 
(Ritchie  was  in  a  strategic  position.  By  yielding  to  the 
urgent  demands  for  the  abolition  of  the  two-thirds  rule,  thus 
permitting  Van  Buren's  loyal  majority  to  effect  his  renomi- 
nation,  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  accomplish  that  result.  As 
the  roll  of  states  was  called  to  hear  the  vote  on  this  important- 
proposition,  all  waited  anxiously  for  Virginia,  because  she 
came  last  on  the  roll  and  had  it  in  her  power  to  control  the 
situation.  But  her  vote  under  the  unit  rule  went  against 
the  abolition  of  the  two-thirds  rule  and  subsequently  for 
Cass.  When  the  first  dark  horse  in  American  politics  rode 
into  the  Democratic  camp,  Virginia  was  among  the  first  to 
board  the  band-wagon,  and  the  next  issue  of  the  Enquirer, 
her  oracle,  announced  triumphantly  that  "a  handful  of  Polk- 
berries  would  kill  any  coon."57 

Thus  calmly  and  unostentatiously  Ritchie  had  played  a 
leading  role  through  an  important  epoch  in  our  history,  with 
out  reverting  to  the  methods  of  the  "machine"  or  the  "boss," 
but  by  loyal  devotion  to  a  great  cause.  In  the  moment  of 
this,  as  in  those  of  other  triumphs,  he  was  not  exultant  and 
refused  to  place  himself  in  a  position  of  authority.  On  the 
eve  of  the  Baltimore  Convention  he  declined  to  be  a  delegate 
thereto  and  advised  his  son,  William  F.,  who  represented 
the  Abingdon  District,  to  go  to  that  deliberation  as  "no  man's 
man,"  not  even  his  father's.58  Meanwhile  he  remained  at 
his  post  entreating  the  delegates  from  Virginia  to  act  as  free 
men  and  to  lose  no  opportunity  to  effect  such  "a  union  of 
Democrats"  as  will  defeat  Henry  Clay,  "the  greatest  enemy 
of  the  country."59 

"Richmond  Enquirer,  June  4,  1844. 

68  Ritchie  M88.,  Ritchie  to  Howell  Cobb,  May  23,  1844. 

M  Richmond  Enquirer,  May  24,   1844. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  243- 

While  some  were  lamenting  the  course  of  the  Baltimore 
Convention  and  conceding  the  election  of  Clay,60  word  came 
to  Richmond  that  the  Senate  had  rejected  the  treaty  for  the 
annexation  of  Texas.  At  once  Ritchie  voiced  the  slogan, 
"Polk  and  Texas."  For  the  first  time  in  the  whole  campaign 
he  now  helieved  Clay's  chances  ruined,  so  confident  was  he 
in  the  merits  of  the  Texas  issue.  His  political  sagacity 
taught  caution,  however,  and  he  now  set  himself  firmly 
against  the  movement  for  a  southern  convention  to  resent 
the  action  of  the  North  in  preventing  the  annexation  of 
Texas.  Instead  he  proposed  a  national  convention  of  the 
friends  of  annexation.  This  course  would  not  only  secure 
Texas;61  but  it  would  not  endanger  the  Union.  As  rumor 
of  English  interference  again  spread  over  the  country  he  re 
iterated  his  slogan  and  urged  annexation  as  a  condition  of 
national  security.62  In  reply,  Whigs  argued  that  annexa 
tion  would  lower  the  price  of  land  and  decrease  the  popula 
tion  in  the  older  states.  But  Ritchie  insisted  that  Texas 
would  be  a  competitor  in  any  event,  and  that  she  would  be 
less  dangerous  in  the  Union  than  as  a  British  colony.63 

The  subsequent  contest  was  spirited  and  in  doubt  to  the 
end.  Whigs  attacked  the  "despot,"  the  "artful  wirepuller," 
and  the  "miniature  Talleyrand,"64  Ritchie;  they  insisted 
also  that  he  and  others  of  the  Junto  were  owners  of  lands  in 
Texas,  and  that  they  were  willing  to  destroy  the  Union  for 
mercenary  purposes ; 65  they  denominated  the  resolutions  of 
'981  mere  abstractions,  and  pled  for  a  national  bank  as  a 
means  for  increasing  the  currency  and  equalizing  exchange ; 6G 
they  protested  against  the  use  of  British  gold  to  make  the 
United  States  a  free  trade  country,67  and  expressed  great 

MVan  Euren  MSS.,  P.  V.  Daniel  to  Van  Buren,  June  11,  1844. 
61  Richmond  Enquirer,  June  11,  1844;   Ibid.,  June  18,  1844. 
C2/6td.,  June  28,   1844. 
63  Ibid.,   July    19,    1844. 
"Ibid.,    September    10,    1844. 
eslbid.,   September  6,  24,   1844. 
"Ibid.,   November    12,   1844. 
"Ibid.,  October  5,  1844. 


244  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

fear  lest  the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  and  the  con 
sequent  repeal  of  the  tariff  act  of  1842  would  make  it  neces 
sary  for  the  laboring  population  of  this  country  to  live  upon 
"free-trade  bread,"  a  black  rye  bread  used  by  the  laboring 
population  of  Germany;68  and  they  went  even  so  far  as  to 
invite  John  Quincy  Adams  to  address  a  political  meeting  in 
Eichmond.69 

None  of  the  personal  attacks  disturbed  Ritchie  quite 
so  much  as  the  appearance  of  John  Quincy  Adams  in  Rich 
mond  on  a  political  mission.  This  he  considered  a  disgrace 
to  the  Commonwealth.  He  would  not  deny  that  he  and  other 
Virginians  owned  lands  in  Texas,  but  he  did  insist  that  his 
and  their  interest  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union  was  para 
mount  to  all  other  interests ; 70  he  pronounced  the  rumors  of 
disunion  which  had  followed  the  Senate's  rejection  of  the 
treaty  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  as  "idle  chimeras"  started 
by  some  "hasty  resolutions  in  South  Carolina,  which  Calhoun 
regrets  and  reprobates ;"  by  showing  that  rye-bread  was  then 
a  wholesome  and  popular  diet  in  Germany  he  proved  the 
"black  rye-bread"  argument  against  the  tariff  a  fraud ;  he 
held  out  the  adoption  of  free  trade  in  Europe  as  an  example 
which  should  be  followed  in  America;71  and  with  the  zeal  of 
his  younger  days  he  returned  to  the  old  story  of  the  "corrupt 
bargain"  of  1825.72 

Encouraged  by  their  splendid  showing  in  1840  and  the 
defection  of  the  northern  Democrats,  the  Whigs  were  hope 
ful  of  carrying  Virginia.  They  had  always  been  prominent 
in  the  lowlands  among  the  "wise,"  and  with  "Harry  of  the 
West"  as  their  standard  bearer  they  now  confidently  expected 
to  win  in  the  western  counties.  Under  the  freehold  qualifi 
cation  for  suffrage  the  "wise"  and  "just"  in  that  section 
shingled  the  mountain  sides  over  with  land  patents  to  enable 

68  Richmond  Enquirer,  October  22,  1844. 

69  Ibid.,  September  6,  1844. 

70  Ibid.,  September  3,  1844. 
nlbid.,  October  24,   1844. 
7-Ibid.,  October  10,  12,  15,  1844. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  245 

the  "slaves  of  Angus  McDonald,"  the  poorer  whites  who  did 
not  own  land,  to  assist  Henry  Clay  in  his  last  effort  to  reach 
the  White  House.  But  the  slogan  "Polk  and  Texas"  united 
the  lowlands  for  the  Democrats.  As  with  one  voice  this  sec 
tion  now  spoke  against  the  attempts  of  the  North,  in  oppos 
ing  the  extension  of  negro  slavery,  to  make  the  South  a  plague 
spot  on  the  Union.  On  the  other  hand,  Ritchie  held  the  west 
erners  in  line  by  his  repeated  expressions  of  confidence  in 
the  "Tenth  Legion"  and  other  Democratic  strongholds  and 
by  recalling  the  caricatures  which  the  Richmond  Whig  had 
so  thoughtlessly  made  upon  the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of 
the  "Suabian  Dutch"  for  refusing  to  support  General  Har 
rison  in  1840.73 

The  result  was  decisive.  Polk  carried  the  state  by  more 
than  five  thousand  votes.  With  characteristic  modesty, 
Ritchie  attributed  the  victory  to  other  causes  than  his  own 
leadership  and  hastened  to  Brandon  to  enjoy  it  in  the  midst 
of  his  friends.  The  candidates  and  the  issues  doubtless  de 
termined  the  results  for  the  country  as  a  whole,  but  Father 
Ritchie's  activity  was  the  potent  factor  in  Virginia. 

"Ibid.,  October  3,  1844. 


246  THOMAS  RITCHIE 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE    NATIONAL   SPOKESMAN. 

Ritchie  neither  expected  nor  desired  reward  for  his  part 
an  the  political  events  of  1844.  He  had  power  in  the  South, 
where  he  was  content  to  remain,  an  humble  worker  in  the 
ranks,  striving  ever  to  maintain  the  ascendency  of  his  be 
loved  Virginia  and  to  keep  her  right  on  great  national  ques 
tions.  Ever  mindful  of  his  friends,  he  congratulated  Polk 
upon  his  election  and  suggested  Stevenson  for  a  place  in  the 
Cabinet.1  The  fact  that  this  was  the  second  request  of  the 
kind  ever  made  by  him,  proves  that  Ritchie  was  actuated  on 
this  occasion  by  motives  of  pure  friendship  and  not  by  a  de 
sire  to  assist  in  dispensing  the  spoils  of  office. 

But  other  councils  were  at  work.  Robert  J.  Walker, 
Aaron  V.  Brown,  and  Cave  Johnson,  who  liked  the  flavor  of 
political  plums  themselves,  had  decided  that  Blair,  the  editor 
of  the  Globe  and  the  spokesman  of  the  Democratic  party 
since  the  days  of  Andrew  Jackson,  must  go.  His  long  stand 
ing  hostility  to  Polk  and  the  lukewarm  attitude  of  the  Globe 
in  the  campaign  of  1844  left  no  difficulty  in  the  way  of  con 
vincing  the  President  and  his  other  associates  of  the  wisdom 
of  their  plan.  As  the  leader  of  the  northern  Democrats, 
Benton  and  Van  Buren  desired  the  retention  of  Blair  as  the 
-editor  of  the  party  organ,  and  the  expulsion  of  Calhoun  from 
the  Cabinet  to  make  a  place  for  Wright  or  Flagg  of  the 
"Barnburner"  faction.  On  the  other  hand,  southern  leaders 
desired  a  southern  spokesman  and  the  retention  of  Calhoun. 
As  a  way  out  of  the  dilemma  it  was  decided  to  place  Ritchie 
in  control  of  the  party  organ  and  to  displace  Calhoun  by 
Buchanan,  who  held  a  semi-neutral  position  between  the  fac 
tions.  The  "Barnbunfers"  were,  however,  to  be  treated  con- 

lPolk  M88.,  November  20,   1844. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  247 

siderately,  and  to  that  end  Wright  was  offered  a  place  in  the 
Cabinet,  which  he  declined. 

Thus  Kitchie  had  been  drafted  without  his  personal 
knowledge  or  consent,  and  there  was  grave  fear  lest  he  would 
decline  to  come  to  Washington  to  supersede  his  old  friend 
Blair.  Accordingly  Cave  Johnson  agreed  to  go  to  Richmond 
to  see  Ritchie  personally.  Fearing  detection  on  the  part  of 
the  northern  Democrats  he  delayed  his  proposed  visit  and 
finally  gave  it  up  entirely,  entrusting  the  negotiations  to 
Ritchie's  close  personal  friend,  General  Thomas  H.  Bayly, 
a  representative  in  Congress  from  Virginia.  In  due  time 
the  finances  for  carrying  out  the  proposed  scheme  had  been, 
provided  by  Walker's  friend,  Simon  Cameron  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  Bayly  submitted  a  proposition.  For  days  he  and 
his  associates  earnestly  awaited  a  reply  from  the  great  Demo 
cratic  editor  of  the  South,  who  had  done  so  much  to  make 
Polk's  nomination  and  election  possible. 

In  the  light  of  his  subsequent  failures,  Ritchie's  letter 
declining  Bayly's  offers  and  propositions  is  interesting  as  a 
whole  despite  its  length.  It  was  written  from  the  midst  of 
the  Christmas  festivities  at  Brandon  and  overflowed  with 
love  and  devotion  for  Virginia.  He  wrote  as  follows : 

"BRANDON,  December  28,  1844. 
<%My  dear  General: 

"I  did  not  receive  your  very  kind  letter  in  time  for  me  to  answe. 
it  from  Richmond.  And  here  I  am  so  much  pressed  with  the  gaities  of 
a  very  large  and  social  circle  that  I  am  not  able  to  do  full  justice 
to  the  various  conditions  which  induce  me  to  decline  the  honor  that 
my  friends  are  preparing  for  me.  Your  own  letter  shows  how  well 
you  know  me — although  you  appreciate  any  good  qualities  I  may 
possess  much  more  than  they  deserve,  I  am  free  to  say  to  you,  my 
dear  S'ir,  that  tho'  misunderstood  by  others,  and  the  remissness  of 
too  many  of  my  subscribers  and  my  necessary  inattention  to  my 
pecuniary  affairs,  have  placed  me  and  my  family  in  such  a  situation 
as  would  make  any  improvement  in  our  fortune  very  desirable.  Indeed 
I  have  not  altogether  abandoned  the  scheme  I  once  confidently  com 
municated  to  you,  viz.:  as  I  jocularly  told  you  to  exchange  the  scepter 
of  Dionysius  for  the  female.  I  have  talked  the  matter  aver  &  over 
again  with  my  family,  and  m,y  daughters  are  willing  to  do  anything 
which  may  assist  a  father's  interest.  Still  I  confess  to  you  frankly, 
1  would  rather  resort  to  this  expedient  than  undertake  the  too  respon 
sible  office  which  you  suggest. 

"You  refer  to  the  proposition  made  to  me   17  years  ago  to  con- 


248  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

duct  the  official  paper  under  Gen.  Jackson's  administration.  It  was 
made  to  me  jointly  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  &  Mr.  Tazewell,  in  the  kindest 
terms  and  the  most  taking  form.  I  remember  distinctly  the  reasons 
which  I  assigned  for  declining  it:  1st  that  I  and  mine  were  deeply  at 
tached  to  Virginia  and  could  not  willingly  leave  our  kindred  and  friends, 
2nd  that  I  would  rather  trust  myself  for  support  to  a  gracious  people, 
than  be  dependent  in  any  manner  upon  the  favor  of  a  Clique,  how 
ever,  respectable,  or  to  the  control  which  might  be  required  over  a 
Government  Press,  and  3d,  that  I  doubted  my  qualifications  for  such 
an  office — and  particularly  whether  at  my  time  of  life,  I  was  capable 
of  enduring  the  physical  fatigue  and  the  cares  which  it  would  devolve 
upon  me,  reminding  Mr.  Tazewell  of  the  saying  of  Old  Partridge — 
'Non  suum  qualis  eram.'  Time,  my  dear  Sir,  has  weakened  not  at  all 
the  two  first  arguments  and  certainly  has  added  strength  to  the  last, 
for  though  a  gracious  Providence  has  given  me  a  very  buoyant  con 
stitution,  yet  I  am  not  equal  to  everything.  There  is  a  point  of 
exertion  and  even  of  endurance  to  which  I  am  not  equal.  These  con 
ditions  alone  would  serve  to  induce  me  to  decline  the  offer,  but 
there  are  others  which  no  wise  man  could  fail  to  see  in  the  circum 
stances  of  the  times.  I  agree  with  you  thoroughly  that  our  party  is 
in  imminent  danger.  We  have  a  strong,  dogged,  inexorable,  indomit 
able  party  to  encounter,  conquered  but  not  subdued,  and  if  they  can 
unite  again  upon  H.  Clay  they  will  become  more  united  than  ever. 
On  our  side  of  the  House  we  see  the  elements  of  discord  too  freely 
sown  among  us.  We  have  scarcely  won  the  victory  and  are  called 
upon  to  do  our  duty,  but  we  find  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way. 
We  find  Benton  like  a  roaring  lion  in  our  path.  We  find 
Benton  and  Calhoun  distrusting  and  opposing  each  other.  I 
know  that  Benton  does  not  like  me  and  I  am  afraid  that  some  of  our 
New  York  friends  are  still  dissatisfied  with  the  course  which  Vir 
ginia  boldly  and  wisely  pursued  in  May  last.  With  all  the  pre 
cautions  which  I  employed  at  the  time  to  explain  our  course  to  our 
N.  Y.  friends  and  especially  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  to  whom  I  was  not 
only  politically  attached,  I  shrewdly  suspect  that  the  impression  still 
remains  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  superseded  by  an  intrigue  set  on 
foot  at  Washington,  principally  by  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends,  and  that 
I  was  directly  or  indirectly,  a  party  to  the  movement.  I  doubt  very 
much  whether  under  the  circumstances  I  should  be  the  proper  person 
to  please  and  unite  the  whole  party.  I  have  no  fear  that  I  should 
not  possess  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Polk  and  his  intimate  friends,  but 
it  would  not  be  a  wise  step  to  involve  me  in  any  of  the  objections, 
which  these  Gentlemen,  however  misguided  I  know  they  are  and  doing 
sore  injustice  to  me  by  the  very  absurd  suspicion  they  may  have 
entertained,  may  indulge  towards  myself.  And  then  there  is  the 
Globe.  I  could  not  buy  out  my  friend,  if  he  were  even  disposed  to 
sell  out,  and  if  he  continued  at  the  head  of  the  Globe,  as  I  have  no 
doubt  he  wishes  to  do,  there  would  too  easily  get  up  a  feeling  of 
dislike  and  rivalry  between  the  two  establishments.  The  quarrel  of 
the  white  and  the  red  rose  might  then  be  expected  and  nothing  would 
more  strongly  contribute  to  rend  the  party  in  twain.  Thus,  the  very 
scheme  you  propose  to  unite  and  save  the  party  might,  more  than 
any  other,  be  the  cause  of  its  division  and  disruption. 

"With  many  and  most  candid  thanks,  which  you  and  our  friends 
from  Tennessee  deserve  at  my  hands,  I  must  most  respectfully  decline 
the  offer.  I  will  do  all  I  fairly  and  honorably  can  to  support  Mr. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  249 

Folk's  administration  and  to  keep  our  party  together,  but  I  had  better 
try  to  do  it  here  than  shift  the  scenes  to  Washington. 

"I  am  free  to  say  to  you  that  I  think  our  Republican  friends  who 
are  not  altogether  satisfied  with  the  course  of  the  Globe,  ought 
frankly  to  tell  Blair  of  it.  Such  a  communication  made  in  the  proper 
spirit  might  have  all  the  good  effects  which  are  desired.  He  must  see 
as  well  as  I  do  that  Col.  Benton  is  still  taking  a  course  to  defeat  the 
Administration  and  to  do  us  much  mischief  by  (not  legible)  and 
unnerving  our  party.  But  if  the  H.  of  R.  of  Missouri  should  concur 
with  the  Senate  and  defeat  him  the  mischief  may  be  averted,  and  we 
shall  have  much  fewer  difficulties  to  encounter.  If  our  friends  in 
Washington  think  that  I  could  do  any  good  in  writing  frankly  to  Mr. 
Blair,  I  would  willingly  undertake  the  office. 

"I  beg  you  to  make  a  discreet  use  of  this  very  hasty  letter,  and 
before  I  close  permit  me  to  recommend  to  you  in  the  most  earnest 
manner  to  resist  this  miserable  and  shuffling  policy  of  procrastina 
tion.  Strike  home  for  Texas  and  for  a  reduction  of  the  Tariff.  The 
country  demands  both  at  our  hands.  We  should  be  derelict  in  our 
duty,  if  we  did  not  do  all  that  our  utmost  energies  can  accomplish 
to  secure  both."  2 

"With  best  regards,  your  friend, 

"THOMAS   RITCHIE/' 

Following  the  refusal  of  its  editor  to  enter  national  poli 
tics,  the  editorial  tone  of  the  Enquirer  continued  strictly 
Virginian.  At  home  Ritchie  was  confronted  with  the 
shrewdly  devised  attempts  of  a  Whig  legislature  to  prevent 
the  annexation  of  Texas  and  to  bring  about  the  re-lection  of 
W.  C.  Rives  to  the  federal  Senate.3  The  legislature  had  been 
elected  in  May,  1844,  when  Henry  Clay  was  at  the  height 
of  his  power  and  before  aPolk  and  Texas"  became  the  issue, 
and  for  political  reasons  it  opposed  practically  everything 
endorsed  by  the  Democrats.  Ritchie  pled  in  vain  for  a 
referendum  on  these  questions  and  also  suggested  that  the 
people  be  allowed  to  vote  upon  the  proposed  annexation  of 
Cuba.  The  opposition  remained  persistent,  sparring  at 
every  turn  for  party  advantages.  By  keeping  Texas  con 
stantly  before  the  Assembly,  Ritchie  was  able,  however,  to 
prevent  the  re-election  of  Rives  or  any  other  Whig,  but  he 
could  not  bring  about  the  election  of  a  Democrat. 

2  The  original  of  this  letter  is  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  George  E. 
Harrison  of   Brandon,   Virginia. 

3  Richmond  Enquirer,  January  7,  14,  21,  24,   1845:  Ibid.,  February 
6,    1845. 


250  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

The  annexation  of  Texas,  which  occurred  in  the  last  days 
of  Tyler's  administration,  simplified  the  situation  in  Vir 
ginia.  It  now  mattered  little  what  records  a  hostile  opposi 
tion  might  make.  The  work  had  been  accomplished,  and  a 
stream  of  praise  went  up  from  the  Enquirer  for  those  who 
had  taken  a  friendly  part  in  it.  Ritchie  now  demanded  a 
free  hand  for  Polk  in  the  use  of  the  patronage  and  in  the 
selection  of  his  cabinet.  The  Oregon  question  remained  to 
be  settled,  and  the  pledge  to  the  people  for  a  reduction  of 
the  tariff  was  to  be  made  good.  It  was  therefore  necessary 
to  give  the  newly  elected  President  a  free  hand.  Evidently 
this  was  a  warning  for  the  Benton,  the  Buchanan,  and  the 
Calho'un  factions. 

Buoyant  over  the  annexation  of  Texas  and  fully  confident 
that  it  would  put  an  end  to  much  of  the  factional  discord 
within  the  Democratic  party,  Ritchie  launched  a  war  of  ex 
termination  upon  the  Whigs  in  Virginia.  Since  the  annexa 
tion  of  Texas  he  had  received  more  kindly  the  repeated  pro 
posals  for  his  coming  to  Washington,  but  he  could  not  think 
of  leaving  the  "Old  Dominion"  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
The  country  had  launched  upon  a  new  era  in  which  she  was 
to  play  a  part,  and  a  federal  senator,  a  much  needed  asset  to 
the  new  administration,  was  an  immediate  stake.  The  re 
sponse  to  his  leadership  was  immediate  and  overwhelming. 
Forgetting  tneir  former  affection  for  Van  Buren  and  their 
inclination  to  follow  the  leadership  of  New  York  and  Penn 
sylvania,  the  Democrats  of  the  western  united  with  those  of 
the  eastern  counties,  whose  numbers  had  already  been  in 
creased  by  the  accession  of  "Texas  Whigs,"  in  an  alliance 
which  swept  the  state  in  1845  and  retained  undisturbed  con 
trol  until  1861.  Hitherto  the  representation  of  Virginia  in 
the  federal  Congress  had  been  almost  one-third  Whig;  now 
it  included  a  solitary  representative  of  that  party. 

This  Democratic  triumph  marked  a  new  era  in  the  poli 
tics  of  Virginia.  It  was  the  first  direct  and  important  re 
sult  of  the  Democratic  State  Convention  of  February,  1844, 
when  Calhoun's  friends  had  given  up  his  candidacy  and  re- 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  251 

luctantly  consented  to  follow  the  leadership  of  Van  Buren. 
Meanwhile  epoch-making  events  had  ushered  in  a  new 
national  era,  each  turn  of  which  had  strengthened  the  Cal- 
houn  following.  Even  in  the  midst  of  success,  Ritchie  had 
lost  to  his  old  time  enemies.  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  Henry  A. 
Wise,  James  A.  Seddon,  William  O.  Goode,  William  Smith, 
and  others  of  their  school  had  never  been  reckoned  as  among 
the  political  friends  of  Ritchie,  and  they  were  now  the  lead 
ers  in  Virginia.  Though  hesitating  to  urge  it,  Ritchie  had 
never  denied  the  ultimate  right  of  a  state  to  secede.  Those 
who  now  led  the  Democracy  of  Virginia  not  only  recognized 
that  right,  but  in  some  instances,  were  anxious  to  exercise  it. 
The  Richmond  Whig  attributed  the  Whig  Waterloo  of  1845 
to  the  presence  of  a  "Grouchy  in  the  field,"  James  Lyons, 
the  leader  of  the  "Texas  Whigs;"4  the  Richmond  Enquirer 
rejoiced  over  the  general  result,  but  found  especial  joy  in 
the  fact  that  the  "Gibraltar  of  Whiggery,"  Richmond,  had 
fallen;  but  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Murcery  spoke  of  it  as 
of  "the  greatest  value  to  the  South."5 

Meanwhile  those  desirous  of  bringing  Ritchie  to  Wash 
ington  had  taken  new  courage.  With  Texas  out  of  the  way, 
one  of  his  own  chief  objections  to  the  change  had  been  re 
moved.  For  a  brief  time  after  his  first  refusal  there  had 
been  hope  that  Benton  would  go  "right  on  Texas,"  and,  with 
Calhoam  out  of  the  Cabinet,  it  had  been  thought  possible  to 
retain  the  Globe?  But  Benton  did  not  go  right,  and  in  their 
chagrin  at  the  slight  done  their  own  chieftain,  the  friends 
of  Calhoun,  backed  by  Duff  Green,  who  had  himself  been 
displaced  by  Blair,  demanded  a  new  editor.  To  Walker, 
Johnson,  and  Brown  their  demands,  sanctioned  as  they  were 
by  the  President,  seemed  imperative. 

Ritchie,  however,  continued  to  hesitate  and  to  urge  the 
appointment  of  his  friend  Stevenson  to  a  place  in  the  Cabi 
net.  For  local  reasons  he  also  considered  it  unwise  to  offend 

*  Richmond  Enquirer,   April   29,   1845. 
8  Ibid,,  May  6,  1845. 

•  Polk  MS8.,  A.  V.  Brown  to  Polk,  January  1,  1845. 


252  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

1  the  Democrats  of  western  Virginia  by  displacing  Blair,  whom 
Ithey   loved    as   the   spokesman   of   Jacksonian   Democracy, 
\which,  after  all,  was  the  basis  of  Ritchie's  strength  in  Vir 
ginia.      Then,  too,  the  practical  difficulties  which   he   had 
already  suggested  in  his  first  refusal  had  not  been  removed. 
Blair  would  not  sell,  and  Ritchie  could  not  buy  at  any  price. 
Besides  the  proposed  change  had  called  forth  the  fury  of 
General  Jackson,  now  quietly  but  eagerly  watching  the  move 
ments  on  the  political  chess-board  from  his  home  at  the  Her 
mitage.    Though  friendly  to  Polk,  the  "Old  Hero"  could  not 
gracefully  give  up  his  cherished  plan  to  have  Van  Buren 
succeed  him  in  the  presidency  for  eight  years  and  Benton  to 
follow  for  an  equal  period.     He  had  plainly  told  Polk  that 
\  Blair's  removal  would  be  the  signal  for  the  complete  dis- 
\ruption  of  the  Democratic  party.7     Naturally  both  Benton 
and  Van  Buren  shared  Jackson's  feelings  arid  opinions.    Be- 
^ides  there  was  no  assurance  that  Blair  would  not  continue 
ko  edit  the  Globe  in  any  event.8 

But  the  Italian  hand  of  Robert  J.  Walker  continued  its 
work.  The  ravings  of  "Old  Hickory"  he  completely  ignored, 
and  Jackson  himself  finally  advised  Blair  to  sell  the  Globe. 
Later  Wright,  Benton,  and  Van  Buren  concurred  in  this 
advice.  An  interview  was  arranged  between  Blair  and 
Ritchie,  who  agreed  to  continue  their  former  friendly  rela 
tions,  happen  what  would.  On  his  way  home,  Calhoun  stop 
ped  in  Richmond,  dined  with  Ritchie,9  and  it  was  believed 
gave  him  assurances  of  his  support.  Meanwhile  Simon  Cam 
eron,  by  a  careful  manipulation  of  the  federal  funds  at  his 
disposal,  had  provided  the  wherewithal  for  the  purchase  of 
the  Globe;  Blair  had  agreed  to  sell;  and  a  business  manager 
in  the  person  of  John  P.  Heiss  of  Tennessee  had  been  en 
gaged  to  run  the  new  establishment.  What  part  Walker  had 


T  Van  Buren  M8S.,  Blair  to  Van  Buren,  March  29,  1845. 

8  Polk  MSS.,   Brown   to  Polk,   January 
c,  February  17,   1845. 

•  Richmond  Enquirer,  March    14,   1845. 


8  Polk  M88.,   Brown   to  Polk,   January    17,   1845;/6id.,   Ritchie   to 
Polk,   February   17,   1845. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  253 

in  all  these  arrangements  can  not  be  determined,  but  that 
he  played  the  chief  part  can  not  be  denied. 

Under  these  circumstances  Eitchie  was  invited  to  Wash 
ington  for  a  personal  interview  with  the  President.  He  was 
made  to  believe  that  his  services  were  needed  to  unite  the 
party  and  possibly  to  save  the  Union,  and  that  he  had  a 
clear  and  friendly  fiejd  before  him.  The  call  came  as  the 
call  of  his  country,  and  nothing  remained  but  to  accept. 

That  the  public  might  know  that  a  new  regime  had  begun 
in  the  editorial  as  well  in  the  political  world,  Ritchie  deemed 
it  expedient  to  effect  a  complete  change  in  the  character  of 
the  party  organ.  Not  only  were  weekly  and  semi-weekly 
issues  to  be  added  to  the  regular  daily  editions,  but  these  new 
issues  were  to  be  furnished  at  popular  prices.  Then,  too, 
the  very  name  of<;the  journal  was  to  be  changed,  not  thatk 
there  was  so  much  in  a  name,  but  that  the  power  and  pres 
tige  of  Blair  might  sooner  be  forgotten.  To  this  end  the 
Washington  Enquirer  was  at  first  suggested  as  a  suitable 
name,  but  it  was  finally  rejected  that  the  Richmond  En 
quirer,  now  to  be  continued  under  the  joint  editorship  of 
Ritchie's  two  sons,  might  have  an  independent  existence  free 
from  all  suspicions  of  outside  influence.  Various  other 
names  were  suggested.  Finally,  after  a  conference  with  the 
"Calhoun  men"  of  Richmond  it  was  agreed  to  call  the  new 
party  organ  The  Union  and  to  adopt  for  its  motto,  "Liberty, 
the  Union,  and  our  Country,"  instead  of  the  motto  desired 
by  Ritchie,  "The  Union,  it  must  be  preserved." 

The  "Prospectus"  of  The  Union  breathed  the  spirit  of 
the  times  and  could  have  emanated  from  none  other  than  a 
patriot.  In  the  success  and  preservation  of  our  institutions 
its  author  saw  a  torch  which  would  eventually  carry  the 
"flame  of  Liberty  over  the  Eastern  World."  In  the  enter 
prise  fostered  by  our  free  institutions  he  saw  the  power 
which  was  erecting  schools,  executing  canals,  building  rail 
roads,  felling  the  forests,  redeeming  the  prairies,  scattering 
cities  and  towns  throughout  the  West,  multiplying  our  popu 
lation,  and  doubling  the  number  of  our  states.  Well  could 


254  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

he  exclaim  in  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way ; 
The  first  four  acts  already  passed; 
A   fifth   shall    close   the   drama   with   the   day, 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 

'With  the  success  and  preservation  of  our  free  institutions, 
the  extension  of  discovery,  and  further  conquests  of  the  steam 
engine,  he  confidently  predicted  that  the  course  of  empire 

^would  continue  westward. 

After  a  characteristic  recapitulation  of  his  theories  re 
garding  the  character  and  nature  of  our  government,  Ritchie 
then  came  to  more  practical  things.  On  the  subject  of  the 
tariff  the  "Prospectus"  was  most  guarded.  It  stood  only 
for  a  "system  adjusted  on  a  scale  consonant  with  all  the 
great  and  varied  interests  of  the  Union  without  sections," 

x  looking  to  a  revenue  standard  only.  The  rash  and  meddle 
some  disposition  of  the  abolitionists  to  interfere  with  the 
great  compromises  of  the  constitution  were  soundly  con 
demned,  as  calculated  to  destroy  our  public  counsels  and  en 
danger  the  Union.  Regardless  of  the  evident  disposition 
on  the  part  of  English  journals  to  ridicule  and  deprecate 
our  claims  to  Oregon,  he  was  certain  that  the  President  would 
omit  nothing,  "demanded  by  a  proper  spirit  of  conciliation, 
and  due  regard  to  the  rights  and  interests  of  our  country," 
to  defend  our  just  claims  to  that  country.  With  all  ques 
tions  connected  with  the  annexation  of  Texas  finally  settled 

jand  the  tariff  system  brought  to  a  proper  revenue  point,  he 
expected  a  return  of  tranquillity  in  the  Democratic  party, 
and  he,  furthermore,  let  it  be  known  that  he  came  to  Wash 
ington  determined  to  avoid  all  remote  contests  for  the  suc 
cession,  pledged  to  no  candidate  or  clique,  prejudiced  against 

i  no  portion  of  the  party,  and  anxious  to  extend  the  right  hand 

x>f  fellowship  to  every  section  and  to  every  honest  Democrat. 
Ritchie's  correspondence  with  his  partner  regarding  the 
"Prospectus"  for  their  proposed  paper  is  both  interesting 
and  instructive,  and  furnishes  a  complete  justification  of 
the  fears  entertained  by  Calhoun  and  others  regarding  the 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  255 

attitude  of  the  administration  toward  the  tariff.  "You  will 
see,"  said  he,  "that  of  all  subjects  the  tariff  is  the  most  diffi 
cult."  To  avoid  a  storm  of  protests  and  a  loss  of  moral  force 
he  knew  that  the  subject  could  not  be  passed  over  equivo 
cally.  Therefore  he  spoke  "frankly  but  guardedly,  leaving 
the  question  of  protection,  discrimination,  the  minimum 
principle,  the  ad  valorem,  etc.,  untouched."  10  In  the  same 
connection  he  later  informed  Heiss  that  the  tariff  was  the 
one  question  upon  which  "we,"  "our  friends  in  Washington," 
and  "especially  Mr.  Polk  and  Mr.  Walker  ought  to  make  up 
their  minds."11 

These  preliminaries  settled,  the  passing  courtesies  of  the 
retiring  and  the  incoming  editor  were  in  order.  In  an  ap 
parently  frank  and  honorable  statement,  which,  however,  can 
be  judged  better  in  the  light  of  subsequent  developments, 
Blair  expressed  unbounded  confidence  in  the  "ability,  integ 
rity,  and  patriotism"  of  the  man  who  was  now  to  preside  over 
the  establishment  and  expressed  himself  as  willing  to  make 
any  further  sacrifices  for  the  "continued  union  and  success 
of  the  Democracy."12  On  the  other  hand,  Ritchie  praised 
in  the  highest  terms  the  "manly  and  magnanimous  and  lib 
eral  conduct"  of  Blair  and  J.  C.  Rives  in  transferring  the 
party  organ  to  him,  mentioning  in  particular  the  liberal 
terms  upon  which  the  transfer  had  been  made.  As  a  double 
precaution  he  quoted  from  Van  Buren's  letter  of  April  24th 
to  Rives,  in  which  the  former  President  had  also  praised  the 
liberal  and  conciliatory  course  of  his  former  spokesman, 
Blair. 

Declining  a  public  dinner  tendered  him  by  the  citizens 
of  Richmond,  Father  Ritchie  now  bade  adieu  to  Virginia 
and  to  the  readers  of  the  Enquirer.  The  characteristic  tone 
of  his  valedictory  is  sufficient  apology  for  the  following 
lengthy  extracts  from  it : 

"On  this  day  forty-one  years  ago  (9th  May,  1804),  I  appeared  before 
my  country  as  the  editor  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer.  The  same  day 

10  Polk   MSS.,   Ritchie   to   Hiess,   Aprill    13,    1845. 

"Ibid.,  April  17,  1845. 

12  Richmond  Enquirer,   April    16,    1845. 


256  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

of  the  month,  which  brought  us  together,  is  about  to  separate  us — 
not  in  my  affections,  nor  in  my  principles,  but  in  my  person  and  in 
the  press.  My  lot  is  now  cast  on  a  different  theater.  The  star  of  my 
destiny  seems  to  point,  at  least  for  a  time,  in  a  different  direction — 
but  I  can  never  forget  Virginia,  or  her  people.  Sooner  would  my 
'right  hand  forget  its  cunning;'  sooner  would  my  heart  forget  to 
beat,  than  I  cease  to  honor  the  time-honored  Commonwealth — to  love 
the  soil  where  my  cradle  was  rocked,  and  my  coffin  will  be  deposited. 
•She  has  cherished  me  in  her  bosom — trusted  me  beyond  my  deserts — 
and  made  me  what  I  am.  I  should  indeed  be  unworthy  of  bearing 
the  proud  name  of  a  Virginian,  if  I  did  not  carry  with  me  a  heart 
filled  with  gratitude  and  overflowing  with  affection. 

"I  should  have  remained  with  you,  altogether,  if  the  interest 
of  those,  who  are  dearer  to  me  than  life  itself,  did  not  call  me  away 
from  you.  But  though  the  sacrifice  is  bitter  enough — though  to  part 
with  friends  who  have  been  endeared  to  me  by  so  many  years,  be  one 
of  the  bitterest  sacrifices  which  man  can  make,  yet  it  is  imposed  upon 
me  by  a  sense  of  duty  which  I  cannot  control.  I  shall  try  not  to  add 
to  it  the  sacrifice  of  the  principles  which  I  imbibed  almost  with  my 
mother's  milk. 

"It  would  have  given  me  a  pain  which  I  have  no  words  to  de 
scribe,  if  I  had  left  my  political  friends  amid  disaster  and  defeat — 
if  the  sun  of  Virginia's  glory  were  at  all  eclipsed — if,  in  any  respect, 
the  Old  Dominion  had  been  wrapped  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  Far  dif 
ferent,  however,  is  her  condition.  I  leave  her  in  the  midst  of  her 
triumphs.  In  November  last,  she  carried  out  her  great  principles,  in 
the  election  of  a  Republican  President  by  a  majority  of  near  six  thou 
sand.  During  the  last  month  she  has  followed  up  this  victory  by 
another,  and  one  of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  which  has  ever 
graced  her  annals.  The  laurel  is  still  green  upon  her  venerable  brow — 
and  I  can  leave  her  without  the  slightest  suspicion  of  treachery,  or  any 
taint  of  disgrace.  Younger,  but  not  more  zealous,  hearts — stronger, 
but  not  more  eager  arms,  are  ready  to  support  her  banner.  To  their 
prudence,  and  to  their  firmness,  I  commit  that  portion  of  the  respon 
sibility  which  has  hitherto  fallen  upon  my  shoulders. 

"I  leave  the  old  'Enquirer'  with  feelings  similar  to  those  with 
which  the  veteran  soldier  surrenders  his  arms,  but  I  have  the  con 
solation  of  reflecting,  that  I  not  only  leave  my  political  associates 
in  the  proud  possession  of  the  field  of  battle,  but  that  I  transfer  my 
sword  to  my  own  sons.  I  .give  to  them  in  charge,  to  defend  the  post 
which  their  father  has  attempted  to  guard  for  forty-one  years — to 
maintain  your  principles,  and  to  uphold  the  character  of  Virginia. 
On  my  own  account,  as  well  as  on  theirs,  I  ask  of  you  to  extend  to 
them  the  same  confidence  and  kindness  which  you  have  uniformly  given 
to  me.  I  know  they  are  deeply  dyed  in  the  wool  of  the  Republican 
faith — anxious  to  serve  their  country,  and  I  hope  competent  to  dis 
charge  the  commission  which  I  now"  entrust  to  their  hands.  More 
I  could  not  ask  of  you,  than  to  treat  them  as  you  have  treated  me. 
In  a  political  life  of  forty-one  years,  I  have  probably  made  some 
few  personal  enemies — few,  I  trust,  they  are — perhaps  few  as  most 
men  may  have  made.  I  have  brought,  perhaps,  some  prejudices  around 
the  Enquirer;  but  I  ask,  in  the  name  of  charity  and  justice,  visit  not 
my  political  sins  upon  my  sons. 

"It  is  not  necessary  for  me  at  this  time  to  recapitulate  the 
articles  of  my  faith.  They  are  your  own.  They  are  the  same  I  have 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  257 

professed  for  so  many  years.  They  are  the  same  with  those  of  the 
present  editors  of  the  Enquirer,  and  it  is  therefore  with  some  con 
fidence  that  I  invoke  on  their  behalf  the  support  of  the  people. 

"Were  I  to  .venture'  to  leave  with  you  one  piece  of  advice,  of  more 
importance  than  the  rest,  it  would  be  to  guard  with  more  than  vestal 
vigilance  the  purity  of  the  right  of  suffrage.  It  is  the  right  con 
servative  of  all  the  other  rights.  Let  this  precious  privilege  be  cor 
rupted,  and  you  poison  Liberty  at  her  very  fountain.  Destroy  this 
corner-stone  of  the  building,  and  the  whole  structure  of  your  political 
institutions  is  in  danger  of  falling  into  ruins. 

"Henceforth,  my  own  name  will  be  stricken  from  the  firm  of 
the  Enquirer,  and  I  leave  it  to  my  sons,  to  make  the  best  arrange 
ments  for  your  interests,  as  well  as  their  own. 

"Eight  hours  only  separate  me  from  my  late  abode;  but  I  know 
not  how  long  it  will  be  before  my  pressing  engagements  will  enable 
me  to  breathe,  even  for  a  day,  the  air  of  Virginia.  Yet,  I  am  happy 
to  say,  that  I  find  warm  hearts  on  this  side  the  Potomac  as  on  that — 
not  as  many  of  them,  perhaps.  I  have  met  with  kindness  and  confidence 
in  the  few  days  during  which  I  have  sojourned  in  the  Metropolis. 
There  is  full  scope  and  verge  enough  for  any  man  who  wishes  to  serve 
his  country — great  interests  to  maintain  in  opposition  to  the  claims 
of  foreign  nations — and  great  power  invested  in  the  federal  govern 
ment,  for  weal  or  for  woe.  I  find  men  here  willing,  I  honestly  be 
lieve,  and  able,  I  know,  to  maintain  our  rights  and  our  interests — to 
'put  the  government  on  the  Republican  track,'  and  to  administer  the 
executive  power  under  the  constitution,  according  to  the  Jeffersonian 
standard.  I  come  here  prepared  to  co-operate  with  such  men  in  the 
support  of  such  principles :  and  I  trust,  when  the  time  of  settling 
up  their  trusteeship  shall  arrive,  you  will  not  repent  of  bringing 
them  into  power,  nor  I  of  exchanging  Richmond  for  Washington.  I 
have  political  duties  to  discharge  here,  that  may  require  all  my 
energies,  and  almost  all  my  time.  Besides,  I  do  not  mean  to  confine 
'The  Union'  altogether  to  politics.  I  should  not  properly  employ  the 
facilities  which  my  position  may  give  to  me,  if  I  did  not  at  least 
attempt  to  call  around  me,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Union,  most  of  the 
lights  which  may  be  in  possession  of  the  government,  or  which  may  be 
obtained  through  its  enlightened  agents  in  foreign  parts.  It  will 
become  the  duty  of  the  press  to  bring  the  people  of  the  states  (to  whom 
this  government  belongs)  well  acquainted  with  its  transactions,  as 
well  as  with  the  events,  prospects  and  views  of  other  countries.  How 
far  I  may  be  able  to  succeed  in  making  the  press  here  a  'brief  abstract 
and  chronicle  of  the  times'  will  depend  upon  circumstances,  which 
I  may  not  be  able  to  understand  or  to  calculate.  I  will  attempt, 
however,  to  do  my  duty.  And  one  thing  more  I  will  attempt  to  do, 
which  is,  if  I  do  not  elevate,  I  will  not  debase  the  dignity  of  the 
Press — that  'miraculous  organ,'  to  which  free  government,  on  an  ex 
tended  scale  of  empire,  is  so  much  indebted  for  its  creation  and  preser 
vation. 

"I  cannot  close  this  hasty  Valedictory,  without  again  expressing 
the  sentiments  of  gratitude  and  affection,  with  which  I  am  so  pro 
foundly  penetrated. 

Yours   faithfully, 

"THOMAS  RITCHIE. 

"Washington,  D.  C." 


258  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

As  his  valedictory  would  indicate,  Ritchie  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  new  duties  with  the  vigor,  ambition,  and 
enthusiasm  of  a  man  of  half  his  years.  External  indications 
pointed  to  a  brilliant  success.  He  was  in  charge  of  one  of 
the  greatest  presses  in  the  country;  training  and  inclination 
fitted  him  for  his  new  position;  and  his  fellow  editors  ap 
plauded  his  deserved  promotion.  The  Charleston  (S.  C.) 
Mercury  thought  his  selection  afar  the  best  choice  Mr.  T?olk 
has  yet  made  for  office/'  and  henceforth  began  to  have  a  lit 
tle  "generous  confidence"  in  the  administration.  On  the 
other  hand  the  Albany  Argus,  representing  the  other  extreme 
of  the  Democracy,  spoke  of  the  choice  as  the  most  fortunate 
that  could  have  been  made.  Then,  too,  the  spirit  of  the  times 
inspired  confidence  in  an  editor  called  to  this  responsible 
position.  The  country  had  said  to  the  newly  elected  Presi 
dent  acarry  out  your  program,"  which  embodied  the  annexa 
tion  of  Texas  and  Oregon  and  contemplated  the  acquisition 
of  Cuba  and  Mexico.  It  was  a  glorious  program,  filling  all 
patriotic  hearts  with  the  spirit  of  1803  and  that  of  1812, 
and  inspiring  the  oldest  patriots  with  new  enthusiasm  and 
confidence. 

In  this  new  position  with  all  its  possibilities,  Ritchie  was 
a  Sampson  shorn  of  his  locks.  Great  in  his  former  sphere, 
his  idiosyncrasy  was  not  national.  Both  in  the  North  and 
the  South  the  political  thunders  continued  to  rumble,  and  the 
old  man's  strict  construction  doctrines  and  constitutional 
abstractions  were  placed  in  the  catalogue  of  provincialisms. 
Though  professing  friendship  and  good  wishes  for  the  new 
editor,  Blair  confidently  expected  his  arrival  in  Washington 
to  divide  the  party  on  sectional  lines  "before  the  middle  of 
the  next  session."13  Drafted  as  a  conciliator  and  pacifier, 
Ritchie  had  been  too  long  a  free  man  now  to  play  the  role 
of  a  politician  on  a  national  scale  or  to  assume  the  livery  of 
a  parasite  on  any  scale.  He  had  opinions  of  his  own,  a  self- 
respect,  and  a  regard  for  the  rights  of  the  people  which  made 
it  next  to  impossible  for  him  to  flatter  the  vanity  of  officials 

13  Van  Buren  M88.,  Blair  to  John  Van  Buren,  March  29,  1845. 


A  STUDY  ix  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  259 

in  high  position  or  to  sacrifice  principle  for  personal  gain 
or  favor. 

Also,  there  is  ample  proof  that  Ritchie  did  not  grasp 
fully  the  situation  before  him.  As  the  "Prospectus"  of  The 
Union  indicates,  he  looked  backward  instead  of  forward. 
The  contests  of  the  future  were  not  to  be  fought  out,  as  he 
expected,  along  old  lines  or  even  upon  old  battlefields.  Con 
trary  to  expectations  the  tariff  had  ceased  to  be  the  important 
issue ;  the  fight  for  the  acquisition  of  Oregon  and  Texas  was 
practically  won ;  but  new  issues,  which  did  not  readily  admit 
of  compromise,  were  to  be  raised  in  the  coming  contest  be 
tween  the  slave-holding  and  the  non-slaveholding  sections. 
Efforts  directed  toward  a  settlement  of  the  differences  be 
tween  free  traders  and  protectionists  proved  inadequate  for 
a  solution  of  the  differences  between  those  who  desired  free 
labor  and  those  who  desired  a  monopoly  upon  labor.  But 
Father  Ritchie  was  not  the  only  man  who  failed  to  penetrate 
the  future  at  this  important  period  of  our  history,  to  see 
that  the  contest  with  Mexico  would  be  pressed  to  the  sword's 
point,  and  that  important  consequences  would  follow,  and 
to  realize  that  the  tariff  and  our  boundary  disputes  were  not 
the  most  important  questions  before  the  country. 

Already  the  signs  of  more  momentous  questions  could 
have  been  read  in  the  contest  between  the  slaveholding  and 
the  non-slaveholding  portions  of  the  great  national  churches. 
The  very  year  that  witnessed  the  election  of  Polk  and  ushered 
in  a  new  political  era,  the  Methodist  Church  had  split  from 
bottom  to  top  on  the  question  of  whether  a  bishop  should  own 
slaves.  Ritchie  regarded  such  divisions  and  dissensions  as 
so  many  links  struck  off  from  "the  chain  which  binds  the 
glorious  Union,"  but,  like  those  accustomed  to  view  problems 
of  statecraft  from  the  standpoint  of  the  tariff,  banks,  and 
internal  improvements,  he  did  not  despair  of  the  republic 
and  confidently  looked  to  the  good  sense  of  the  body  politic 
to  bear  safely  the  ark  of  the  covenant.14 

Ritchie's  first  task  as  an  editor  was  to  win  the  northern 

"Washington  Union,  May  15,  1845. 


260  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Democrats,  because  the  impression  yet  lingered  that  both 
he  and  the  President  were  the  creations  of  the  "Calhoun 
faction."  In  his  selection  of  Buchanan  over  Calhoun  to  be 
Secretary  of  State,  the  selection  of  Marcy  to  be  Secretary 
of  War,  and  Bancroft  to  be  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  his  chief 
tain  had  already  taken  a  long  step  in  the  direction  of  con 
ciliation.  It  remained  for  Ritchie,  as  his  spokesman,  to 
aid  in  the  further  wooing.  Accordingly  The  Union  defended 
earnestly  our  claims  to  the  "whole  of  Oregon"  and  said  lit 
tle  about  Texas,  except  to  give  the  doubtful  assurance  that 
Benton  and  Van  Buren  had  each  acquiesced  in  its  annexa 
tion,  though  they  could  not  approve  the  methods  by  which  it 
had  been  made.15  Furthermore,  Ritchie  denied  the  report 
of  Dame  Rumor  to  the  effect  that  he  was  committed  to  Cal 
houn  for  the  succession,  and  he  called  both  James  A.  Seddon 
and  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  leaders  of  the  Calhoun  following  in 
Virginia,  to  testify  to  his  truthfulness.16  As  a  last  precau 
tion  he  visited  Blair  in  his  country  home  at  Silver  Spring, 
Maryland,  and  returned  to  praise  the  hospitality  and  the 
amiable  qualities  of  his  predecessor.  So  far  did  the  pendu 
lum  swing  in  the  direction  of  the  North  that  The  Union 
was  currently  reported  to  favor  Van  Buren  for  the  succes 
sion.17 

In  trying  to  please  the  North,  Ritchie  naturally  offended 
the  South.  His  conciliatory  attitude  won  his  election  to  the 
office  of  public  printer  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote  of 
the  Democrats  in  Congress,  but  it  was  evident,  even  before 
Congress  met  in  December,  1845,  that  his  mission  of  recon 
ciliation,  would  be  unsuccessful.  Calhoun  remained  dis 
trustful  of  Folk's  attitude  on  the  tariff,  and  was  willing  to 
compromise  our  claims  to  Oregon.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
North  did  not  like  the  indefinite  statement  of  the  Prospec 
tus  of  The  Union  on  the  Oregon  question  and  was  conse- 

15  Washington  Union,  May  5,  1845;  August  4,  1845;  Ibid.,  Septem 
ber  4,  1845;  Ibid.,  November  17,  1845. 
19  Ibid.,  December  2,  1845. 
17  Ibid.,  May  22,  1845. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  261 

quently  distrustful  of  the  administration.  The  introduction 
of  the  resolution  providing  for  a  notice  of  termination  of 
the  Convention  of  1827  whereby  we  held  Oregon  in  joint 
occupation  with  England,  brought  matters  to  a  crisis.  With 
out  urging  our  claims  to  54°  40'  Eitchie  tried  to  advise  and 
to  scold  the  Senate  into  passing  the  resolution,  insisting  that 
such  a  course  would  not  be  followed  by  war  with  England 
and  that  it  was  necessary  to  protect  and  defend  our  just 
rights.18  But  Calhoun  and  his  small  following  remained 
deaf  to  those  tactics  which  had  appalled  the  Assembly  of 
Virginia.  In  due  time  a  characteristic  assault  was  made 
upon  Calhoun.  When  the  desired  resolution  finally  passed 
both  houses  of  Congress  in  face  of  his  opposition,  Ritchie 
was  exultant.19  He  spoke  of  the  event  as  an  epoch-making 
incident  in  our  history,  which  would  fix  the  eyes  of  Europe 
upon  us  and  stand  as  an  eternal  reproach  to  those  who  had 
opposed  it.  The  result  was  immediate.  The  followers  of 
Calhoun  could  now  strike  the  President  through  his  spokes 
man,  Ritchie,  who  was  frequently  reminded  that  he  was  not 
running  Congress. 

Fearing  that  his  course,  as  an  editor,  would  defeat  their 
plans  for  acquiring  Oregon  or  any  part  of  it  by  alienating 
Calhoun  and  possibly  precipitating  a  foreign  war,  northern 
leaders  took  alarm.  Ignorant  of  all  the  circumstances  sur 
rounding  Blair's  removal  and  of  Folk's  well-founded  objec 
tions  to  the  Globe,  Senator  Allen  of  Ohio  and  Secretary 
Buchanan  called  upon  the  President  to  tell  him  of  the  in 
tense  dissatisfaction  with  Ritchie  and  to  ask  that  Blair  be 
associated  with  him  as  joint  editor  of  The  Union.  Allen 
was  confident  that  "Ritchie  could  not  get  five  votes  out  of 
the  Calhoun  faction  in  either  house  of  Congress."  The 
President  took  no  alarm,  however,  and  assured  his  callers 
that  Ritchie  was  honest  and  actuated  by  no  other  desire  than 
to  serve  the  Democratic  party.  It  was  true  that  the  old  man 
made  mistakes,  but  it  was  also  true  that  he  was  ready  and 

18  Washington  Union,  January  7,  12,  29,  1846. 

19  Ibid.,  March  25,   1846;   Ibid.,  April  23,  1846. 


262  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

willing  to  rectify  them.  Failing  to  enlist  the  sympathy  of 
the  President,  the  dissatisfaction  continued,  and  finally  led 
to  a  movement  to  set  up  an  independent  press  with  Blair 
as  its  editor.  Senator  Cass  agreed  with  Polk  that  such  a 
course  would  not  only  defeat  the  ends  of  the  northern 
leaders,  but  that  it  would  also  result  in  a  disruption  of  the 
Democratic  party.  Accordingly  he  and  other  leaders 
arrested  the  movement  and  turned  their  energies  to  the  task 
of  making  Ritchie  a  more  acceptable  editor.20 

The  politicians  had  a  difficult  task,  because  Ritchie  was 
not  of  the  malleable  type.  Xor  is  it  at  all  certain  that  his 
chieftain  now  desired  him  to  be  all  things  to  all  men.  With 
a  foreign  war  upon  his  hands  and  the  prospect  for  an  exten 
sion  of  the  South' s  boundary  to  the  Pacific,  and  with  Oregon 
not  yet  won,  he  saw  his  only  chance  'of  maintaining  union 
and  accord  between  the  factions  in  adhering  to  a  semi-inde 
pendent  course  in  dealing  with  each.  Accordingly  Ritchie 
continued  to  defy  England,  now  even  to  the  point  of  the 
sword,  and  he  made  bold  to  read  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Mer 
cury  out  of  the  party,21  as  a  print  that  was  unfriendly  to 
the  greatest  interest  of  the  West  at  a  time  when  it  was  ready 
to  unite  with  the  South  to  procure  a  reduction  of  the  hated 
tariff.  Thus  by  adhering  to  the  middle  ground  he  hoped  not 
only  to  save  the  party  but  also  to  work  for  a  greater  Union. 

The  sound  of  the  war  trumpet  temporarily  diverted  at 
tention  from  Ritchie  and  gave  him  a  free  opportunity  to 
give  expression  to  that  patriotism  with  which  his  soul  con 
tinually  overflowed.  In  reply  to  an  editorial  of  the  London 
Times  commenting  upon  the  fact  that  the  United  States  had 
no  standing  army  and  that  she  could  not  therefore  carry  on 
a  successful  war  with  Mexico,  he  assured  the  hated  English 
men  that  volunteers  would  start  up  like  Cadmus'  men  from 
the  sowing  of  the  dragon's  teeth  to  fight  our  battles,  that  a 
bugle  sound  in  the  West  and  the  Southwest  would  call  forth 
thousands  of  men  who  would  go  forward  with  the  cry  "West- 

30  Folk's  Diary,  L,  350-361. 

21  Washington    Union,    May    1,    0,    1840. 


A  STUDY  ix  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  263 

ward  Ho,"  and  that  Americans  would  not  only  take  the  capi 
tal  of  Mexico  in  a  single  campaign,  but  would  carry  their 
wives  and  children  to  the  region  of  Santa  Fe  in  one  season 
and  to  Colorado  and  California  in  the  next.22  This  was  the 
brand  of  patriotism  which  had  deposed  Van  Buren,  won 
Texas,  and  stood  ready  to  fight  for  Oregon  and  California. 

Ritchie  did  not  long  find  protection  under  the  war  cloud, 
which  at  no  time  became  menacing  or  interrupted  the  pro 
gress  of  ordinary  legislation.  His  caustic  editorials  on  Ore 
gon  had  sunk  deep  into  the  memories  of  southerners,  and 
their  untimeliness  and  boldness  had  alienated  those  whom 
they  were  meant  to  serve.  Henceforth  he  was  a  marked 
man ;  a  scapegoat  for  Polk ;  and  a  football  for  the  politicians. 
Calhoun  opposed  the  manner  of  conducting  the  war  with 
Mexico,  and  the  North  remained  indifferent  to  it.  But  as 
its  staunch  defender  Ritchie  made  many  enemies  and  few 
friends. 

From  a  settlement  of  the  Oregon  question  and  its  pre 
paration  for  the  war  with  Mexico,  Congress  proceeded  im 
mediately  to  a  discussion  of  the  tariff.  Ritchie  followed 
cautiously.  In  lenghty  editorials  overflowing  with  the  teach 
ings  of  the  classical  school  of  political  economists  he  ex 
ploded  the  protectionist  theories  and  sustained  a  revenue 
tariff,  but  he  now,  as  in  the  past,  found  a  practical  way  out 
of  the  difficulty  by  accepting  the  compromise  tariff  of  1846'. 
He  saw  in  this  bill  a  complete  triumph  for  the  Democratic 
party  and  the  long  desired  union  between  the  West  and  the 
South  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture,  but  he  did  not  fail  to 
give  credit  to  the  Democrats  of  the  Middle  and  New  Eng 
land  states,  who  had  supported  it.  In  the  affirmative  votes 
from  Pennsylvania  he  professed  to  see  a  return  of  the  day 
when  the  Keystone  State  and  the  Old  Dominion  would  be 
united  again  as  of  old.23 

Generalizations  and  pleas  for  conciliation  and  compro 
mise  did  not  conceal  the  fact  that  the  tariff  of  1846  was  not 

22  Washington   Union,  June   9,    1848. 

23  Washington  Union,  July  8,  1846. 


264  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

merely  a  revenue  tariff.  Accordingly  it  found  favor  neither 
in  the  North  nor  in  the  South,  and  in  supporting  it  Ritchie 
made  almost  as  many  enemies  as  he  had  made  in  discussing 
the  Oregon  question.  Calhoun's  predictions  had  come  true. 
In  the  moment  of  her  triumph,  as  in  1832,  the  South  was 
again  betrayed  in  the  house  of  her  friends  for  the  sake  of 
the  party.  Some  of  her  leaders  saw  a  return  of  the  day, 
when,  under  the  leadership  of  Ritchie,  Virginia,  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  New  York  would  again  control  their  party  far 
the  spoils  of  office  and  the  advancement  of  their  favorites. 
Discouraged  at  the  prospects,  Yancey  withdrew  from  Con 
gress,  vowing  his  purpose  never  again  to  attend  another 
Democratic  convention.24  On  the  other  hand,  Blair,  Benton, 
and  the  Van  Burens  were  exultant;  subscriptions  to  The 
Union  were  discontinued ;  and  reports  came  thick  and  fast 
of  how  Ritchie's  ardor  for  free  trade  was  disrupting  the 
Democratic  party  in  Pennsylvania  and  other  northern 
states.25 

At  no  time  in  our  history  have  politicians  been  over 
scrupulous  in  the  selection  of  their  sacrifices.  Polk  had  dis 
appointed  all  parties  on  the  tariff,  and  some  atonement  had 
to  be  made.  The  lot  fell  to  Ritchie  without  even  the  formal 
ity  of  the  usual  casting.  This  time  the  way  was  to  be  paved 
for  a  rival  independent  press  in  Washington  by  first  provid 
ing  a  financial  basis  for  it.  The  opportunity  came  when 
Garrett  Davis  of  Kentucky,  a  Whig,  wishing  to  strengthen 
his  own  party  and  to  widen  the  breach  within  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  introduced  a  resolution  to  let  the  public  print 
ing  to  the  lowest  bidder.  The  dissatisfied  Democrats  seized 
the  proposition  with  avidity,  defending  it  as  a  means  of 
putting  the  public  printing  upon  a  non-partisan  basis  and  of 
emancipating  the  executive  from  the  clutches  of  the  editors. 
The  resolution  finally  became  law  and  did  have  wholesome 
effects,  but  it  was  enacted  to  humiliate  and  embarrass 
Thomas  Ritchie,  at  a  time  when  he  stood  for  the  interests  of 

24  Washington  Union,  August  11,   1846. 
July    28,    1846. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  265 

the  whole  country  as  opposed  to  those  of  any  particular  sec 
tions.  His  offence  was  a  too  ardent  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  his  party.  In  the  nomenclature  of  this  day  he  was  a 
"standpatter." 

Ritchie  accepted  this  mark  of  disfavor  with  that  com 
posure  which  comes  only  from  confidence.  After  assuring 
the  public  that  he  was  no  interloper,  having  been  invited  to 
Washington  in  1804  and  again  in  1827  to  become  the  editor 
of  the  national  Democratic  organ,  his  plans  for  putting  the 
press  upon  a  more  popular  basis  and  divorcing  it  from  com 
plete  dependence  upon  the  government  were  carried  into  exe 
cution.  The  daily  Union  was  now  offered  at  $10  per  year, 
the  semi-weekly  at  $5,  and  the  weekly  at  $2.  Besides  a  Con 
gressional  Register  .resembling  the  prestent  Congressional 
Record,  but  published  only  weekly,  was  promised  to  the 
public.26  Thus  not  only  the  government,  but  the  press  as 
well  profited  in  the  long  run  by  the  exigencies  of  this 
occasion. 

The  adverse  results  of  the  autumnal  elections  of  1846 
only  complicated  Ritchie's  difficulties.  Instead  of  attribut 
ing  their  defeats  to  other  and  more  potent  factors,  the  dis 
appointed  politicians  traced  them  to  the  unwise  leadership 
of  "Old  Nous  Verrons,"  as  Ritchie  was  now  contemptuously 
called  by  Blair  and  others.  Naturally  many  of  "the  wise" 
returned  to  tLe  next  session  of  Congress  resolved  to  rectify 
Folk's  mistake  in  the  selection  of  a  spokesman  for  their 
party.  The  contemplated  withdrawal  of  the  public  printing 
was  not  enough,  he  was  to  be  driven  completely  from  his 
position  of  leadership. 

Not  ignorant  but  fearless  and  firm  in  his  conviction  of 
the  justness  and  wisdom  of  the  causes  in  which  he  fought, 
Ritchie  remained  defiant.  The  unpatriotic  equivocation  of 
Calhoun  and  the  political  designs  of  Benton  were  alike  dis 
gusting  to  him,  and  he  continued  to  urge  a  vigorous  and  un 
relenting  prosecution  of  the  war  with  Mexico.  He  spoke  of 
the  National  Intelligencer,  which  opposed  that  course,  as1 

26  Washington  Union,  July  1,  11,  1840;  Ibid.,  August  7,  1846. 


266  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

the  Mexican  paper  in  the  federal  capital,  and  Calhoun.  and 
his  followers  in  the  Senate  were  classed  among  the  "friends, 
compatriots,  and  fellow  soldiers"  of  Santa  Anna  and  Am- 
pudia.  The  crisis  came,  when  immediately  following  the 
defeat  of  the  "Ten  Hegiment  Bill"  their  appeared  in  The 
Union  a  communication  signed  "Vindicator"  and  entitled 
"Another  Mexican  Victory."  In  no  unmistakable  references 
to  Calhoun  this  writer  described  the  battles  then  waging  in 
Congress  in  behalf  of  the  Mexicans  and  pled  for  a  more  gen 
uine  and  unselfish  patriotism.27 

Smarting  under  the  attack  of  "Vindicator,"  and  think: 
ing  that  his  utterances  had  been  inspired  by  the  President, 
Calhoun  and  his  small  personal  following  in  the  Senate, 
now  called  the  "balance -of  power  party,"  did  not  hesitate 
to  reply.  On  the  day  following  "Vindicator's"  appearance, 
Senator  Yulee  of  Florida  introduced  the  following  resolu 
tions,  which  the  balance  of  power  party,  composed  of  the  two 
Senators  from  South  Carolina  and  the  two  Senators  from 
Florida,  aided  by  the  Whigs,  were  able  to  pass : 

Resolved,  That  the  editors  of  the  Union — a  newspaper  published  in 
the  city  of  Washington — having  in  a  publication  contained  in  a  number 
of  that  paper,  dated  the  9th  of  February,  issued  and  published  a  public 
libel  upon  the  character  of  this  body,  be  excluded  from  the  floor  of  the 
Senate. 

"That  the  report  of  the  proceeding  of  the  Senate  of  the  8th  day  of 
February  in  relation  to  the  bill  entitled  'An  act  to  raise,  for  a  limited 
time,  an  additional  military  force,  and  for  other  purposes,'  is  partial  and 
unjust  to  this  body  and  that  the  reporters  for  that  paper  be  excluded 
for  the  residue  of  the  session  from  a  place  in  the  gallery  of  the 
Senate,"  28 

The  debate  which  followed  the  introduction  of  the  above 
resolutions  affords  ample  proof  of  Ritchie's  abilities  and  of 
the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held.  Senator  Allen  of 
Ohio,  who  had  desired  his  removal  only  one  year  before, 
now  threatened  the  Senate  with  an  unfriendly  visitation  of 
the  sovereign  power  of  the  people  should  they  see  "the  hands 

"Washington    Union,    February    13,    1847. 
"  Cong.   Glole,  29th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  p.  366. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  267 

of  Fifty-six  Senators  clinched  in  the  gray  hairs  of  Thomas 
Ritchie,"  should  they  be  forced  to  witness  a  cowardly  and  un 
necessary  assault  upon  "an  old  man,  almost  twice  as  old  as 
the  Senate  itself.'729  Sevier  of  Arkansas  thought  the  reso 
lutions  unnecessary  to  protect  the  dignity  of  the  Senate,  and 
predicted  that  the  result  would  be  a  "Ritchie  victory,"  if 
not  a  "Mexican  victory,"  30  and  Turney  of  Tennessee  saw  in 
them  simply  a  revolt  against  an  honest  effort  to  fix  respon 
sibility  where  it  belonged  and  against  the  freedom  of  the 
press. 

The  resolutions  were  defended  on  the  undemocratic 
ground  that  the  Senate  had  the  same  right  to  protect  itself 
in  its  home  that  a  private  individual  had  to  protect  himself 
in  his  home.  Any  intention  of  an  attack  upon  the  freedom 
of  the  press  was  disclaimed,  as  were  all  feelings  of  political 
animosity.  Equally  ridiculous  and  ludicrous  with  these 
declarations  was  a  denial  on  the  part  of  Calhoun  that  he 
was  then  or  ever  had  been  a  candidate  for  the  presidency, 
and  that  he  entertained  personal  feelings  towar3  Ritchie.31 

The  reflections  of  Van  Buren's  friends  upon  Ritchie's 
predicament  were  more  amusing  than  instructive.  They 
show  an  utter  incapacity  to  understand  the  importance  of 
Texas  and  to  concede  to  others  honesty  and  sincerity  in 
politics.  Silas  Wright  had  already  discovered  a  rebuke  for 
Ritchie  in  the  election  of  Hunter  to  represent  Virginia  in 
the  federal  Senate,  but  he  now  saw  in  Ritchie's  expulsion 
from  the  press  privileges  of  that  body  a  "retributive  justice" 
for  the  wrongs  done  Van  Buren  in  1844.  He,  also,  observed 
that  in  every  crisis  Ritchie  had  allowed  his  fears  to  drive 
him  "off  in  a  tangent"  from  which  his  personal  fidelity  had 
eventually  brought  him  back  "weak  anol  wound,  and  power 
less."  Accordingly,  he  now  confidently  expected  his  return 
to  his  first  love,  Van  Buren,  and  as  a  relief  to  "the  good  old 

MCong.  Globe,  29th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  p.   392. 
"Ibid.,  395. 
"Ibid.,  395417. 


2(>8  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

man,"  Wright  now  magnanimously  considered  renewing  his 
subscription  to  the  Enquirer,  which  he  had  not  seen  since 
1844.32  John  C.  Rives,  former  business  manager  of  the 
defunct  Globe,  jocularly  compared  Ritchie's  situation  io 
that  of  the  father  and  son  who,  to  avoid  the  jeers  of  the 
crowd,  had  carried  their  jackass  to  market  instead  of  both 
riding  him,  and  had  been  rewarded  by  even  greater  criti 
cisms.33  Meanwhile  Blair  confidently  expected  Van  Buren 
to  be  the  Democratic  nominee  for  the  presidency  in  1848, 
and  looked  forward  to  the  re-establishment  of  the  Globe  with 
himself  as  editor. 

Following  a  complete  disavowal  of  all  responsibility  for 
"  Vindicator"  on  the  part  of  the  President,  Ritchie  launched 
a  characteristic  attack  upon  the  Senate.  He  regarded  his 
expulsion  as  a  cowardly  attack  upon  the  administration  and 
as  an  outrage  upon  the  rights  of  the  press,  and  he  invited 
the  people  to  rally  to  a  defence  of  their  constitutional  rights. 
Calhoun  was  described  as  the  ambitious  leader  of  a  "little 
clique  professing  to  belong  to  the  Democratic  party."  He 
defied  both  him  and  his  followers,  and  appealed  to  the  peo 
ple  to  right  his  wrongs.  "They  will  not,"  said  he,  "desert 
the  cause.  What  becomes  of  us  is  of  little  account.  We  are 
but  atoms  in  a  powerful  community  of  twenty  millions  of 
people."  In  large  black  letters  he  printed  the  names  of  A. 
P.  Butler,  John  C.  Calhoun,  James  D.  Westcott,  and  David 
L.  Yulee,  Democrats  who  had  voted  for  the  resolutions  of 
expulsion,  on  the  front  page  of  The  Union,  together  with 
the  resolutions  for  which  they  had  voted. 

Whatever  his  attitude  toward  others,  it  was  now  evident 
that  Ritchie  would  not  support  Calhoun  for  the  succession. 
Accordingly  northern  leaders  began  to  share  the  opinions 
entertained  by  Silas  Wright  and  to  hope  for  a  renomination 
for  Van  Buren.  Polk  had  pledged  himself  not  to  seek  a  re- 

32  Van  Buren  M88.,  Wright  to  Van  Buren,  January  28,  1847; 
Ibid.,  April  14,  1847. 

83  Van  Buren  M88.,  Wright  to  Van  Buren,  January  28,  1847 ; 
Hid.,  Rives  (J.  C.)  to  Van  Buren,  May  12,  1847;  Ibid.,  Blair  to  Van 
Burcn,  July  7,  1847. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  269 

election ;  Texas  had  been  won ;  the  war  with  Mexico  was  on 
the  point  of  a  successful  termination;  and  it  was  generally 
conceded  that  an  old-time  alliance  between  the  northern  and 
southern  Democrats  was  all  that  could  save  them  in  1848". 
Thus  they  saw  no  reason  for  a  refusal  to  return  to  the  days 
of  Jacksonian  Democracy.  In  his  adherence  to  the  national 
nominating  convention,  now  attacked  by  Calhoun  as  an  un 
desirable  method  of  selecting  candidates  for  the  presidency, 
in  his  pleas  for  accord  within  the  party,  and  in  the  persis 
tency  of  his  attacks  upon  the  "prince  of  nullifiers,"  the 
northern  leaders  now  scented  the  return  of  Father  Ritchie 
to  those  halcyon  days. 

Although  there  was  no  evidence  of  a  turning  to  Van 
Buren,  Calhoun's  treatment  of  Ritchie  and  his  course  in 
general  met  with  disapproval  in  Virginia,  and  for  a  time 
rendered  uncertain  the  hold  of  his  followers  upon  the  state. 
In  many  instances  where  avowed  Calhoun  men  presented 
themselves  as  candidates  for  Congress  and  the  Assembly  in 
1847  they  were  successfully  opposed  by  administration  can 
didates.  This  was  true  in  the  Richmond  district,  where 
James  A.  Seddon  and  W.  D.  Leake  were  candidates  for  Con 
gress.  The  regular  nomination  went  to  the  former,  but, 
with  only  two  dissenting  votes,  the  convention  adopted  the 
following  resolution:  "That  in  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Sed 
don  this  convention  does  protest  against  its  being  considered 
as  giving,  directly  or  indirectly,  any  color  of  approval  to 
the  political  course  of  the  Hon.  J.  C.  Calhoun,  or  any  pledge 
to  support  him  for  the  presidency."  Seddon,  always  an 
ardent  follower  of  Calhoun,  considered  this  resolution  a  re 
flection  upon  his  course  and  resigned  his  candidacy.34  The 
nomination  then  went  to  Leake,  but,  as  in  most  cases,  where 
similar  lines  were  drawn,  the  Whig  candidate  was  successful 
at  the  polls.  Such  experiences  had  the  effect  of  riveting 
more  firmly  the  hold  of  the  pro-southern  statesmen  upon 
Virginia,  because  it  had  become  impossible  for  the  Demo 
crats  to  win  without  them. 

84  Washington    Union,    April    3,    1847. 


270  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

In  another,  yet  a  most  important  field,  Ritchie  seemed 
willing  to  co-operate  with  the  North.  Calhoun's  schemes 
for  uniting  the  South  and  connecting  it  with  the  West  by  a 
network  of  internal  communications  had  long  heen  known 
to  the  leading  statesmen  of  both  sections.  The  political, 
commercial,  and  industrial  possibilities  of  such  a  South  were 
beyond  conception.  They  might  enable  Calhoun  to  reach 
the  coveted  presidency.  They  would  certainly  divert  the 
lines  of  trade  from  the  North  and  from  the  central  water 
ways  of  Virginia.  The  only  way  to  counteract  them  was  at 
once  to  bind  the  West  by  arteries  of  trade  to  the  East.  Ac 
cordingly  a  convention  met  in  Chicago,  July  5,  1847,  to 
devise  means  for  improving  the  navigation  of  the  rivers  and 
lakes  in  that  region  and  for  connecting  the  upper  Missis 
sippi  valley  with  the  Oregon  country.  Letters  sympathetic 
with  the  movement  were  read  on  this  occasion  from  Clay, 
Van  Buren,  Benton,  and  Wright.  Later  Ritchie  spoke  en 
thusiastically  of  the  proceedings  and  seems  to  have  been 
willing  to  brush  aside  his  scrpules  regarding  the  power  of 
Congress  over  internal  improvements  with  a  mere  reference 
to  former  decisions,  vetoes,  speeches,  and  state  papers.  He 
now  admitted  that  it  involved  a  "doubtful  power"  and  that 
there  was  much  well-founded  "difference  of  opinion"  on  the 
constitutional  power  of  the  general  government  over  internal 
improvements.  Evidently  he  was  again  ready  to  "conciliate 
and  compromise."  The  problems  of  our  greater  nationality 
had  necessitated  a  growth  in  the  organic  law,  which  could 
be  made  only  in  the  spirit  of  compromise.  To  what  extent 
Ritchie  was  actuated  by  hostility  to  the  schemes  of  Calhoun, 
the  desire  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Border,  a  desire  to 
co-operate  with  the  North,  or  the  spirit  of  nationalism  which 
characterized  the  epoch  can  not  be  determined. 

Developments  in  the  North  soon  made  it  impossible, 
however,  for  Ritchie  to  co-operate  with  its  leaders  in  any 
thing.  A  more  momentous  question  than  the  tariff,  or  the 
freedom  of  the  press,  or  individual  rights,  that  of  the  exten 
sion  of  slavery  into  the  territories,  was  now  engaging  the 


A  STUDY  ix  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  271 

attention  of  its  people.  It  had  become  evident  that  they 
would  not  give  up  the  principles  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso. 
Other  efforts  at  conciliation  were  attempted.  Ritchie  being 
readmitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  floor  of  the  Senate  and 
entrusted  with  the  editorship  of  a  special  organ,  The  Cam 
paign,  established  to  fight  for  the  presidency  in  1848.  But 
the  Herkimer  convention  with  its  radical  resolutions  upon 
the  subject  of  negro  slavery  and  the  power  and  duty  of  Con 
gress  to  exclude  that  institution  from  the  territories  and 
the  persistency  of  the  abolitionists,  as  seen  in  the  ecclesias 
tical  and  political  gatherings  at  the  North,  forced  Ritchie 
to  beat  a  retreat  in  the  direction  of  the  pro-slavery 
camp.  At  the  first  mention  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  he  had 
calmly  suggested  that  it  would  be  time  enough  to  govern  and 
administer  our  territories  after  they  (had  been  acquired. 
Later  he  had  proposed  the  extension  of  the  line  of  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise,  as  a  suitable  boundary  between  slavery 
and  freedom  in  all  newly  acquired  territory.  But  the  in 
creasing  bitterness  of  the  abolitionists  in  their  attacks  upon 
the  South,  their  unreasonable  demands  regarding  the  exclu 
sion  of  slave  property  from  the  common  territory,  and  their 
boldness  in  shouldering  the  abolitionist  propaganda  upon 
Thomas  Jefferson,  brought  from  Ritchie  a  vigorous  defence 
of  the  rights  of  the  slave  owner  in  the  common  territory 
and  a  flat  denial  that  the  Sage  of  Monticello  was  not  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  sympathy  with  negro  slavery  as  it  ex 
isted  in  the  South. 

Blows  now  fell  upon  the  venerable  editor  from  another 
direction.  Following  the  cue  of  the  New  York  Evening 
Post,  the  northern  prints  insisted  that  The  Union  had  be 
come  a  pro-slavery  organ.  The  defeat  of  the  Democratic 
candidates  in  the  autumnal  elections  of  1847  in  New  York 
were  attributed  to  its  changed  attitude.  In  February,  1848, 
David  Wilmot  rose  in  his  place  in  the  House  and  demanded 
the  retirement  of  the  "old  man,"  then  "in  his  second  child 
hood,'7  for  a  more  impartial  and  disinterested  spokesman.35 

35  Cong.  Globe,  30th  Cong.,  1st  sess.,  p.  182. 


272  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Defeated  and  disappointed,  Ritchie  was  ready,  in  May, 
1848,  to  surrender  all  and  to  retire  to  his  beloved  Vir 
ginia;36  but  other  councils  prevailed  and  he  remained. 
From  this  point  things  went  from  bad  to  worse.  The  Barn 
burners,  Freesoilers,  and  other  third  parties  held  conven 
tions  and  nominated  separate  candidates  for  the  presidency; 
Van  Buren  himself  accepted  the  nomination  of  the  Free- 
soil  party;  and  the  Democracy  which  Ritchie  had  come  to 
Washington  to  unite  and  preserve  was  rapidly  going  to 
pieces,  and  that,  too,  at  a  time  when  there  was  every  neces 
sity  for  unity  and  strength. 

From  the  very  beginning  Ritchie  despaired  of  success 
in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1848.  That  valiant  leader, 
Lewis  Cass,  a  northern  man  with  southern  principles,  whom 
Ritchie  himself  had  preferred  for  the  presidency  in  1844, 
could  not  inspire  confidence.  With  the  Democratic  vote  of 
New  York  divided  between  Cass  and  Van  Buren,  Ritchie 
knew  that  there  was  little  chance  for  his  favorite.  Experi 
ence  had  taught  him  to  attach  a  high  value  to  that  vote  in 
presidential  contests.  In  a  reminiscent  mood  he  referred 
to  Van  Buren's  former  wooings  of  the  South,  reviewed  the 
incidents  of  1844,  and  pronounced  a  well  done  upon  his 
own  patriotic  course  in  deserting  him.  Thus  prepared  he 
went  down,  "defeated  but  not  daunted,  beaten  but  not  over 
whelmed." 

*f  Van  Buren  MS8.,  Blair  to  Van  Buren,  May  23,  1848. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  273 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    GREAT    COMPROMISE. 

Though  honored  and  respected  for  his  venerable  services 
and  sterling  character,  Ritchie  did  not  always  share  the 
complete  confidence  of  his  political  chieftain.  His  intense 
desire  to  appear  to  others  as  the  real  spokesman  of  the  ad 
ministration  and  his  mania  for  publicity  made  it  difficult, 
and  at  times,  impossible  for  him  to  keep  a  secret.1  These 
traits  greatly  annoyed  the  President  who,  however,  attrib 
uted  them  to  habits  of  the  editorial  profession  and  not  to 
defects  of  character  in  has  spokesman.  To  complaining 
politicians  he  defended  Father  Ritchie,  insisting  that  he 
always  meant  well.  Thus  Polk  made  it  possible  for  the 
party  organ  to  retain  its  place  as  the  representative  of  his 
own  following  and  as  the  spokesman  of  his  party  through 
the  stormy  days  of  the  Great  Compromise  and  after  he  him 
self  had  retired. 

As  spokesman  of  the  minority,  Ritchie's  trials  and  trou 
bles  were  not  lessened.  In  the  very  midst  of  the  campaign 
in  which  his  party  had  gone  down  to  defeat,  the  debate  on 
the  question  of  establishing  a  territorial  government  for 
Oregon  had  again  brought  into  review  the  whole  subject  of 
negro  slavery.  The  leadership  of  Lewis  Cass  had  failed  to 
reconcile  the  sections  and  even  to  produce  accord  within  his 
own  party.  At  the  North  there  were  Democrats  who  de- 
sird  to  apply  the  Northwest  Ordinance  of  1787  to  Oregon, 
and  at  the  South  there  were  those,  led  by  Calhoun,  Davis, 
and  others,  who  insisted  upon  the  constitutional  right  of 
Congress  to  protect  and  defend  the  slave-holder  in  the  pos 
session  of  his  property  in  the  common  territory.  The  enact 
ment  of  the  bill  excluding  slavery  from  Oregon  was  the  be- 

1  Folk's  Diary,  III.,  237,  474;  Ibid.,  IV.,  214-216. 


274  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

ginning  of  another  great  crisis.  Before  Calhoun's  mournful 
prophecy,  "The  great  strife  between  the  North  and  the 
South  is  ended'7  could  become  true  another  political  contest 
was  to  be  waged  between  the  sections,  and  Ritchie,  as  the 
spokesman  of  the  conservatives  of  the  Border,  was  again  to 
be  harrassed  and  cajoled  by  the  warring  factions  entrenched 
in  the  extreme  North  and  the  extreme  South. 

When  Congress  met  in  December,  18481,  it  heard  in 
Folk's  optimistic  message,  which  Ritchie  had  already  ap 
proved,  simply  an  ardent  plea  for  peace  and  accord  within 
the  party.  But  there  was  to  be  no  peace.  Exultant  over 
their  victory  in  the  contest  for  Oregon  and  armed  with  reso 
lutions  from  their  state  legislatures  endorsing  the  Wilmot 
Proviso  and  demanding  the  exclusion  of  slavery  and  the 
slave  trade  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  North  had 
returned  to  the  national  councils  resolved  to  fight  the  further 
extension  of  slavery,  cost  what  it  would.  Alarmed  because 
of  their  previous  defeats  and  concessions  and  because  of  the 
aggressiveness  of  their  rivals  the  representatives  of  the  lower 
South,  aided  by  recruits  from  other  parts  of  the  slave-hold 
ing  section,  had  also  returned  resolved  to  fight  for  a  per 
petual  franchise  over  the  labor  of  negroes,  which,  they  said, 
was  guaranteed  them  by  the  constitution.  Thus,  standing 
on  the  constitution  they  demanded  their  "bond"  regardless 
of  the  principles  involved  and  the  possibility  of  compromise. 
The  necessity  for  a  regular  government  for  California  and 
her  subsequent  request  for  statehood  had  precipitated  the 
fray,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  peaceful  councils  advised 
by  the  retiring  President  and  his  venerable  spokesman  would 
not  prevail. 

Contrary  to  his  usual  course,  Ritchie  did  not  face 
squarely  the  demands  of  either  section.  Formerly  he  had 
favored  the  extension  of  the  line  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
as  a  solution  of  the  slavery  question,  but  he  now  advised  the 
immediate  admission  of  California  without  requiring  her  to 
pass  through  the  territorial  stage,  and  with  full  power  to 
determine  for  herself  whether  or  not  slavery  would  exist 
within  her  borders.  Circumstances  made  delay  impossible. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  275 

In  the  immediate  admission  of  California  to  statehood, 
Kitchie  saw  defeat  for  any  movement  looking  to  an  inde 
pendent  republic  on  the  Pacific,  also  the  impossibility  of  a 
repetition  of  the  foreign  complications  experienced  in  our 
dealings  with  Texas.  Such  a  course  would  also  make  a  re 
vival  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  impossible  and  make  it  un 
necessary  to  compromise  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  South. 
Besides  it  would  then  be  unnecessary  to  debate  the  conflict 
ing  theories  regarding  the  power  of  Congress  over  slavery 
in  the  territories. 

Although  willing  to  dodge  the  real  issue  in  dealing  with 
California,  Ritchie's  sympathies  were  with  the  South.  He 
thought,  however,  that  additional  constitutional  guarantees, 
later  demanded  by  Calhoun,  were  unnecessary  and  did  not 
take  kindly  to  the  suggestions  for  a  dual  federal  executive. 
In  their  mad  haste  for  power  and  ascendency  and  conscious 
of  the  embryonic  nationality  of  their  respective  sections,  the 
leaders  of  the  extreme  North  and  the  extreme  South  had 
long  calculated  the  value  of  the  Union,  and  in  so  doing  had 
lost  confidence  in  the  constitution.  But  Ritchie,  like  most 
of  the  leaders  in  the  Border  and  like  those  who  had  ordained 
and  established  the  federal  government,  saw  in  the  strict  in 
terpretation  of  that  document  full  security  for  the  guaran 
teed  rights  of  the  South  and  for  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union 
of  the  fathers.  He  found  in  the  conservatism  of  the  Border 
the  leaven  which  was  to  destroy  two  prospective  nationalities 
for  the  preservation  of  a  greater  nationality.  Consequently 
he  did  not  even  now  despair  of  the  republic.  There  was 
yet  security  for  all  in  "the  Rights  of  the  States  and  the 
Union  of  the  States." 

Adherence  to  the  letter  of  the  constitution  did  not,  how 
ever,  preclude  possibilities  of  compromise.  Ritchie's  theory 
of  the  nature  of  the  federal  government  had  been  wrought 
out  at  the  time  it  was  made  and  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation 
and  compromise,  later  to  be  fostered  by  the  genial  influences 
of  a  conservative  environment,  the  great  Border  section. 
He  did  not  now  understand  why  new  problems  involving  the 


276  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

national  life  and  security  could  not  be  met  and  solved  in  the 
same  spirit.  To-day  centralization  is  the  slogan  of  greater 
nationality;  with  Ritchie  that  slogan  was  compromise.  He 
regarded  good  faith,  kindness,  and  forbearance  as  neces-* 
sary  for  the  preservation  of  the  federal  compact,  and  held 
him  a  traitor  who  assumed  a  different  attitude.  He  could 
understand  Calhoun  and  Davis  who  would  have  been  satis 
fied  with  the  letter  of  the  law,  but,  in  the  light  of  the  great 
compromises  upon  which  the  Union  was  founded  and  the  long 
struggle  to  maintain  them,  the  attitude  of  Garrison  and 
Seward  was  beyond  his  conception.  In  answer  to  the  charge, 
now  frequently  made,  that  he  had  become  the  spokesman  of 
a  section  instead  of  a  great  political  party,  he  reiterated  his 
devotion  to  the  constitution  with  all  its  compromises,  which 
he  insisted  were  as  old  as  the  government  itself  and  as  dear 
to  all  real  patriots.2 

Liberal  concessions  in  regard  to  California  intermingled 
as  they  were  with  pleas  for  a  strict  interpretation  of  the 
constitution,  did  not  satisfy  all  the  leaders  of  the  North. 
Of  California  they  were  reasonably  certain,  and  they  had 
already  identified  strict  construction  with  a  defence  of  negro 
slavery.  After  a  caucus  attended  by  fifty  or  more  members 
of  Congress  and  encouraged  and  abetted  by  interested  press 
men,  Senator  Allen  of  Ohio  wraited  upon  tne  venerable 
editor,  then  in  his  seventy-second  year,  to  express  dissatis 
faction  with  his  course  in  general  and  with  his  pro-slavery 
leanings  in  particular.3  Of  this  interview  Blair,  who  was 
always  jealous  of  Ritchie  and  never  free  from-  a  desire  to 
supersede  him,  said:  "Ritchie  remonstrated,  wept,  and  at 
times  defied — said  he  would  stand  no  matter  what  hap 
pened — that  he  meant  not  only  to  maintain  his  press  here 
during  his  life,  but  would  leave  it  to  his  son  as  a  successor.'7  4 
After  agreeing  to  associate  with  himself  Edmund  Burke,  as 
joint  editor  of  The  Union,  Ritchie  was  retained  as  the 

2  Washington   Union,   January   13,  20,   27,   1849. 

3  Polk  M88.,  Cave  Johnson  to  Polk,  March  17,  1849. 

4  Fan  Buren  MSS.,  Blair  to  Van  Buren,  March  4,   1849. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  277 

spokesman  of  the  party,  but  dissatisfaction  with  his  course 
never  ceased.5 

The  proposed  admission  of  California  brought  promi 
nently  to  the  front  the  subject  of  internal  communication. 
Already,  as  seen  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Chicago  Con 
vention  of  1847  and  in  the  gigantic  schemes  of  Calhoun, 
leaders  of  the  rival  sections  were  calculating  the  advantages 
to  be  derived  from  connecting  their  own  growing  nations 
with  the  great  West.  That  the  interests  of  the  whole  coun 
try  might  be  served  more  patriotic  spirits  would  have  con-, 
nected  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  by  a  canal  crossing  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  or  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec.  But 
all  recognized  that  the  day  when  the  iron  horse  would  cross 
the  Rockies  was  near  at  hand.  No  power  could  keep  the 
immigrant  out  of  the  West,  national  ownership  of  which  had 
necessitated  a  sectional  contest  for  its  control. 

True  to  his  ideals  of  a  greater  nationality  for  the  whole 
country,  Eitchie  endorsed  the  "grand  idea"  of  bringing 
China  to  our  door.  Since  this  great  task  involved  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  sections,  even  the  existence  of  the  slave- 
holding  power  itself,  it  too,  like  the  other  great  questions 
which  had  confronted  the  fathers  in  1787,  was  to  be  under 
taken  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation  and  compromise.  In  such  a 
solution  the  constitution  was  to  find  adjustment  to  the  de 
mands  of  a  growing  and  changing  nationality.  The  acquisi 
tions  of  1845,  1846,  and  1848  had  inspired  a  feeling  of  true 
national  greatness  which  even  the  constitution  could  not  be 
permitted  to  retard.  True,  Ritchie,  like  Jefferson  in  1803, 
preferred  a  constitutional  amendment  to  meet  the  exigencies. 
In  lieu  of  that  he  was  now  willing  to  invoke  the  true  spirit 
of  the  constitution,  the  only  liberal  construction  known  to  a 
strict  constructionist,  the  spirit  of  compromise,  as  a  solution 
of  the  difficulty  and  as  a  guarantee  of  the  rights  of  all. 

These  conditions  and  these  facts  made  it  possible  for 
Ritchie  to  face  the  facts  boldly.  Accordingly  he  suggested 

5  Washington  Union,  June  2,  1849;  Polk  M8S.,  Ritchie  to  Polk, 
April  10,  1849. 


278  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

routes  for  three  trans-continental  railways :  one  to  connect 
the  southern  point  of  Lake  Michigan  with  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  river,  another  to  connect  St.  Louis  and  Monterey, 
and  still  another  to  connect  New  Orleans  with  some  point 
farther  south  on  the  Pacific.  The  fact  that  he  had  fought 
for  both  Oregon  and  Texas  and  that  he  would  have  waged 
international  war  for  54°  40'  almost  as  readily  as  for  the 
Rio  Grande  boundary,  made  a  preference  of  routes  impos 
sible.6 

Thus  far  Ritchie  had  spoken  the  sentiments  of  President 
Polk,  which  he  himself  most  heartily  endorsed.  But  Polk 
had  retired,  Congress  had  adjourned  without  admitting  Cali 
fornia,  and  the  South,  as  a  last  resort,  was  trying  to  enlarge 
the  slave-holding  territory  by  adding  a  part  of  New  Mexico 
to  Texas.  The  contest  between  the  sections  was  to  continue 
and  even  to  increase  in  bitterness.  Both  at  the  North  and 
the  South  Democrats  demanded  a  more  clear-cut  statement 
of  principles  by  their  editor.  Accordingly  he  now  declared 
for  the  policy  of  non-intervention,  fathered  by  the  new  leader 
of  the  party,  Lewis  Cass  of  Michigan.  By  non-intervention 
Ritchie  denied  to  Congress  the  expediency  of  legislating 
upon  the  subject  of  negro  slavery  in  the  territories  and  re 
served  to  the  people  thereof  the  right  to  determine  the  regu 
lations  and  laws  under  which  they  became  states. 

Ritchie  had  not,  however,  ceased  to  be  a  compromiser. 
This  declaration  had  simply  placed  him  in  accord  with  the 
dominant  element  of  the  Democratic  party  without  chang 
ing  his  principles.  Non-intervention  was  in  full  accord  with 
his  ideas  of  government,  and  it  offered  a  possibility  of  re 
moving  the  contest  for  the  new  West  from  the  legislative 
halls  to  the  federal  courts.  Besides,  acceptance  of  this  policy 
might  bring  about  a  life-long  ideal,  party  unity.7 

The  months  immediately  following  this  declaration 
marked  a  period  that  tried  men's  souls.  The  opinion  was 
general  that  the  next  session  of  Congress  would  either  save 

e  Washington  Union,  April  17,  1849. 
'Ibid.,  June  9,  1849. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  279 

or  destroy  the  Union.  All  parties  groomed  for  the  contest. 
A  convention  of  southern  members  issued  an  address  in 
which  they  complained  of  the  difficulty  of  recovering  fugi 
tive  slaves  and  of  the  action  of  the  abolitionists,  demanded 
the  right  of  immigrating  into  the  territories  with  their  slave 
property,  and  inveighed  against  the  action  of  the  House  in 
attempting  to  exclude  slavery  from  California  and  New 
Mexico.  The  legislature  of  Virginia  had  no  difficulty  in 
selecting  a  course  between  submission  to  the  Wilmot  Proviso 
and  resistance  to  federal  aggression,  and  feeling  ran  at  fever 
heat  in  the  cotton  states.  In  the  North  feeling  ran  equally 
high.  State  legislature  after  legislature  put  itself  on  record 
in  resolutions  defending  the  power  and  duty  of  Congress  to 
prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories  and  urging  it  to  abolish 
the  "curse"  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Party  lines  were 
broken  down  and  little  heed  was  paid  to  time-honored  party 
principles.  With  each  succeeding  day  the  political  horizon 
became  darker,  and,  when  Congress  met  in  December,  1849, 
echoes  of  the  gathering  storm  resounded  from  the  federal 
capital. 

Under  such  conditions  no  political  editor  who  attempted 
to  maintain  a  neutral  position  could  escape  attack.  There 
was  no  neutrality.  Northern  leaders  continued  to  regard 
Ritchie  as  pro-southern,  and  the  South  could  not  find  in  him 
a  safe  custodian  of  its  rights  and  interests.  Of  the  trials  of 
this  period  Ritchie  himself  said:  "Never  did  my  poor  bark 
weather  so  fearful  a  tempest."8  But  he  rejoiced,  and  suc 
ceeding  ages  my  rejoice  with  him,  that  the  bark  rode  the 
storm  and  emerged  "with  the  flag  of  the  Union  still  flying." 
In  the  time  of  a  great  crisis,  the  greatest  that  he  had  ever 
seen,  Father  Ritchie,  now  the  spokesman  of  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  had  risen  to  his  greatest  stature. 

The  meting  of  Congress  brought  the  expected  crisis,  but 
Ritchie  was  ready.  On  the  very  day  that  Clay  came  for 
ward  with  his  first  set  of  resolutions  looking  to  a  compromise 

6  Richmond   Enquirer,   September   10,   1852. 


280  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

of  the  differences  between  the  sections,  Ritchie  disappointed 
the  "fire-eaters"  of  the  lower  South  and  the  "fanatics"  of 
the  North  by  throwing  the  power  of  The  Union  for  concilia 
tion.  Following  a  review  of  our  struggle  for  independence, 
of  the  conciliatory  and  compromising  spirit  which  had  made 
the  federal  government  possible,  and  of  the  blessings  which 
had  flowed  from  the  Union,  he  pictured  a  glorious  future 
for  our  republic,  "rising  on  a  new  continent — stripped  of  the 
antique  prejudices  and  the  aristocratic  privileges  which  de 
faced  the  ancient  world — with  an  immense  surface  of  young 
and  unappropriated  land,  capable  of  supporting  a  teeming 
population  and  of  furnishing  an  asylum  to  all  the  oppressed 
emigrants  of  Europe — abounding  in  rivers  and  sea-coast, 
and  all  the  facilities  of  commerce  and  manufactures — 
blessed  with  liberty — and,  on  all  these  accounts,  productive 
of  an  energy  and  character  which  has  never  been  equaled 
by  the  proudest  republic  of  antiquity,  and  of  an  ingenuity 
and  enterprise  which  are  calculated  to  advance  the  improve 
ment  of  the  country  to  an  indefinite  extent."  Then  he 
issued  a  call  for  patriots,  men  whose  spirits  were  equal  to 
the  storm  which  threatened  the  nation,  who  would  sacrifice 
office  for  the  good  of  their  country  and  die  for  the  father 
land.  The  editorial  closed  with  the  assurance  that  there 
were  Suffolks  in  Congress,  who,  like  the  English  statesman 
of  that  name,  would  deem  themselves  unworthy  of  the  name, 
if  asked  to  ward  off  an  impending  blow  to  their  country.9 

One  week  later  Clay  began  his  great  speech  in  favor  of 
the  compromise  resolutions.  Ritchie  praised  his  motives 
and  many  of  his  utterances,  but  could  not  approve  his  plari 
for  excluding  slavery  from  the  new  territory  by  extending 
the  laws  of  Mexico  to  it,  on  the  groun cf  that  they  were  already 
the  laws  which  governed  it.  He  searched  in  vain  for  a  con 
cession  to  the  South  in  such  a  proposition,  and  then  assured 
Clay  that  it  could  not  be  palmed  off  as  a  compromise.10 
Then  by  a  shrewd  use  of  those  arts  of  which  he  was  master, 

8  Richmond  Enquirer,  September   10,   1852. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  281 

those  arts  which  gave  him  his  political  power,  Kitchie  began 
to  cast  about  for  "clearer,"  more  "generous,"  and  more  "in 
trepid"  spirits  than  Clay  who  could  be  relied  upon  to  save 
the  Union.  With  an  eye  upon  the  great  man  whom  he  pro 
fessed  to  be  abandoning,  he  assured  the  public  that  there 
were  other  men  in  Congress  "who  have  the  ability  and 
patriotism  to  risk  themselves  for  the  glorious  Union — who, 
like  Curtius,  would  plunge  into  the  fiery  gulf  for  the  salva 
tion  of  this  country !" 

At  this  jucture  Clay  realized  that  he  could  accomplish 
little  without  Ritchie's  assistance.  Accordingly  he  expressed 
a  desire  to  confer  with  his  old-time  assailant.  As  all  inter 
course  between  them  had  long  ceased,  and  as  they  were  each 
recognized  leaders  of  opposing  parties,  extreme  caution  was 
necessary  in  effecting  a  meeting.  Through  the  kindness  of 
a  mutual  friend,  James  W.  Simonton,  it  was  finally  arranged 
for  Ritchie,  accompanied  by  General  Thomas  H.  Bayly  of 
Virginia,  to  call  upon  Clay  in  his  rooms  in  the  National 
Hotel  at  4  P.  M.  on  Sunday,  February  10th.  The  meeting 
was  cordial,  and  began  by  pleasant  references  to  the  old  days 
in  Richmond,  when  they  had  attended  the  same  frolics  and 
paid  court  to  the  same  ladies.  Although  the  Enquirer  had 
been  his  most  bitter  assailant  when  he  had  sought  the  cov 
eted  presidency,  Clay  assured  Ritchie  that  he  had  never 
ceased  to  read  it  and  to  be  interested  in  its  editor. 

After  a  short  conference,  both  were  convinced  that  noth 
ing  but  patriotic  motives  had  brought  them  together.  Ac 
cordingly  they  proceeded  at  once  to  a  discussion  of  the  com 
promise  resolutions.  Clay  defended  them  as  originally  pro 
posed,  but  at  length  he  agreed  to  strike  the  provision  regard 
ing  the  Mexican  law  from  them  and  to  insert  instead  a  pro 
vision  leaving  it  to  the  territories  to  decide  for  themselves 
whether  or  not  they  would  have  slavery.  Through  a  mutual 
friend,  Senator  Foote  of  Mississippi,  Ritchie  had  already 
suggested  to  Clay  the  reference  of  the  whole  matter  to  a 
special  committee  of  thirteen.  Now,  as  a  means  of  effect 
ing  the  proposed  changes  in  the  original  resolutions,  he  re- 


282  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

newed  his  suggestion  which  Clay  received  with  favor  and 
later  accepted.11  After  discussing  the  claims  of  Texas  to  a 
part  of  New  Mexico,  the  necessity  for  a  more  stringent  fugi 
tive  slave  law,  the  expediency  of  abolishing  slavery  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  possibility,  in  the  last  resort, 
of  extending  the  line  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  they 
parted  resolved  that  "everything  or  nothing"  should  be  set 
tled  by  a  "fair  and  liberal  compromise,"  at  once  and  forever, 
to  secure  "the  peace,  the  union,  and  the  prosperity  of  our 
country."  In  the  light  of  subsequent  events  the  importance 
of  this  meeting  can  not  be  overestimated. 

Henceforth  Ritchie  was  one  of  Clay's  most  valuable  lieu 
tenants  in  the  fight  for  compromise.  Cordial  relations  were 
resumed  extending  even  to  the  joking  point.  Shortly  after 
this  meeting  it  is  reported  that  Ritchie,  in  the  presence  of 
a  number  of  public  men,  promised  Clay  to  forgive  him  for 
his  course  in  1825,  if  he  would  only  save  the  Union  and  cease 
to  aspire  to  the  presidency.  To  which  Clay  replied:  "Tom 
Ritchie,  you  never  believed  a  word  of  that  bargain  story." 
But  Ritchie's  aid  was  not  conditional  in  support  of  the  Com 
promise  resolutions.  He  attacked  bitterly  the  unconciliatory 
attitude  of  Calhoun's  speech  of  March  the  4th,  and  pro 
nounced  Webster  the  "lion  of  the  day." 12  Despite  the  chid- 
ings  of  friends  he  entreated  the  President  to  join  Clay  and 
Webster  in  their  efforts  to  save  the  Union,  and,  if  necessary 
to  maintain  the  findings  of  the  select  committee  of  thirteen, 
he  himself  was  willing  to  drain  the  cup  of  poverty  to  the 
last  dregs.13  Alternately  he  begged  and  scolded  in  an  effort 
to  induce  Congress  to  act,  the  North  to  give  up  the  Wilmot 
Proviso,  and  the  South  to  cease  its  agitation  for  disunion. 
With  the  resolutions  of  the  Nashville  Convention  upon  the 

11  Foote,  Casket  of  Reminiscenes,  p.  24 ;  Richmond  Enquirer,  Sep 
tember  10,  1852. 

"Washington  Union,  March  6,  8,  1850;  Ibid.,  May  10,  1850. 
13  Ibid.,  May  10,   1850. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  283 

nature  of  the  federal  government  and  the  ultimate  right  oi 
state  to  secede  he  was  in  full  accord,  but  he  condemned  its 
ultimatums  and  particularly  its  indiepen'dent  attitude  to 
ward  the  northern  Democrats.14  As  in  the  days  of  Jack 
son  and  Van  Buren  he  continued  to  value  his  northern  allies. 
He  now  classed  Rhett,  Yancey,  and  Toombs  with  Garrison, 
John  Van  Buren,  Phillips,  and  Seward  as  disunionists.  A 
true  representative  of  the  Border  he,  like  the  Great  Com 
promiser,  loved  the  Union  of  the  fathers  and  deplored  the 
movements  which  now  threatened  its  destruction. 

As  at  other  times,  notably  in  1832,  Ritchie  paid  dearly 
for  his  devotion  to  the  Union.  Contending  that  he  had  sur 
rendered  the  party  of  Jackson  to  its  arch  enemy,  Calnoun, 
Douglas  and  Richardson  of  Illinois,  acting  as  the  represen 
tatives  of  a  number  of  others,  tried  to  induce  Blair  to  set  up 
an  opposition  press.15  A  few  weeks  later  forty -four  southern 
members  of  Congress  adopted  an  address  to  their  constitu 
ents  recommending  the  establishment  of  a  newspaper  in 
Washington  to  be  devoted  to  "the  support  and  defence  of 
southern  interests."  Ritchie  was  accused  by  them  of  placing 
party  welfare  before  their  rights  and  interests,  the  old  charge 
so  frequently  made  by  Calhoun.  The  severest  attack  came 
from  his  beloved  Virginia,  when  R.  K.  Meade,  a  represen 
tative  in  Congress  from  that  state,  assailed  his  course  in 
support  of  the  Compromise.  Meade  urged  the  impropriety 
of  permitting  the  young  men  of  Virginia  to  call  Father 
Ritchie  "Old  State  Rights,"  and  demanded  that  he  cease  to 
fight  for  "Onachar  who  had  drunk  the  milk  of  the  white  doe," 
and  that  he  return  to  the  leadership  of  her  stalwart  sons 
or  desert  completely  to  the  camp  of  the  Philistines.  He  was 
opposed  to  all  concessions,  to  all  compromise,  but  did  not 
represent  tne  sentiment  of  Virginia.  He,  like  many  others, 
was  alarmed  for  the  future  of  the  South  when  the  balance 
between  the  states  had  been  destroyed  by  the  admission  of 
California,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  Oregon,  as  free  states. 

14  Washington   Union,  June   15,   18,   1850. 

w  Van  Buren  IfSff.,  Blair  to  Van  Buren,  March  24,  1850. 


284  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

"Then,"  said  he,  "the  pressure  on  our  sides  will  cause  south 
ern  respiration  to  grow  thick  and  short:  the  serpent's  fold 
will  become  tighter  and  tighter,  and  the  days  of  our  fair 
land  with  its  wonderful  civilization  will  be  numbered."16 

But  Ritchie  did  not  think  this  a  death  struggle  for  the 
South.  In  dissolution  he  saw  death,  but  in  view  of  his  un 
derstanding  with  Clay  that  contingency  was  impossible. 
Accordingly  he  continued  buoyant  and  steadfast  in  his 
course.  Knowing  that  the  northern  leaders  would  in  time 
junderstand  his  position  and  adjusit  themselves  to  it,  he 
paid  little  attention  to  their  attacks,  but  those  from  the 
South,  and  particularly  those  from  Virginia,  disturbed  him 
no  little.  He  frankly  admitted  the  right  of  any  person  to 
establish  a  press  at  Washington,  but  he  reviewed  his  record 
on  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  abolition,  and  the  political  contests 
of  1844  to  prove  his  loyalty  to  the  South  and  her  institu 
tions.  Moreover,  he  denied  outright  the  charge  that  he  had 
lulled  the  South  into  a  "false  security"  by  keeping  her  at 
tached  to  the  North  for  the  sake  of  political  union  and  party 
successes.  To  Mr.  Meade  he  gave  the  assurance  that  the 
"glorious  edifice  on  which  we  dwell  might  yet  survive  us 
and  bless  our  children,  for  it  is  founded  upon  a  rock." 17 

In  national  affairs  the  compromise  resolutions  which 
were  finally  adopted  one  at  a  time  did  not  produce  even  a 
truce,  and  the  war  upon  the  venerable  editor  continued. 
After  one  year  Burke  retired  from  the  co-editorship,18  and 
Ritchie  was  left  to  bear  the  burdens  alone.  Occasion  for 
further  attacks  came  when  he  petitioned  Congress  for  relief 
for  losses  sustained  in  the  execution  of  his  contract  to  do 
the  public  printing.  When  the  contract  was  made,  it  was 
thought  to  include  the  printing  of  the  census  of  18*50,  but 
the  politicians  through  some  hook  or  crook  kept  that  work 
from  going  to  Ritchie.  He  was  now  accused  of  holding  up' 
Congress  for  a  contribution  for  his  share  in  bringing  about 

16  Washington  Union,  June  9,   1850. 
"Ibid.,  May  14,  15,  18,  1850. 
"Ibid.,  May  31,  1850. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  285 

the  Compromise.  The  debate  which  followed  his  petition 
and  the  newspaper  comment  upon  it  brought  into  review  the 
questionable  acts  attending  the  establishment  of  The  Union 
and  General  Jackson's  various  expressions  of  disapproval 
of  Eitchie.19  James  L.  Orr  of  South  Carolina  denied  the 
desired  relief,  alleging  that  the  contract  had  been  ente'red 
into  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  an  inde 
pendent  press  in  Washington,  and  that  the  parties  to  it 
should  thus  suffer  for  their  political  sins.20  Ritchie's  poor 
financiering  afforded  a  rare  opportunity  for  Blair  and  Rives, 
who  had  hounded  him  ever  since  his  arrival  in  Washington. 
Unable  to  destroy  him  as  an  editor,  they  now  hoped  to  ac-. 
complish  his  downfall  by  attacking  him  in  his  most  vulner 
able  spot,  his  weakness  as  a  financier.  To  secure  the  appro 
priation  Blair  now  accused  him  of  courting  the  favor  of 
the  Hunkers,  but  he  was  confident  that  "the  old  scavenger 
will  be  left  to  perish  in  his  sink,"  unless  "C'ass  &  Co."  and 
"Buck  &  Co."  considered  "the  central  organ  with  its  Polk 
prestige"  worth  the  price.21 

From  this  final  testing  Ritchie  emerged  with  character 
unsullied.22  It  was  shown  that  he  knew  nothing  about  the 
financial  deals  and  arrangements  by  which  Simon  Cameron, 
Robert  J.  Walker,  Cave  Johnson,  and  Aaron  Brown  had 
founded  The  Union,  that  his  whole  career  had  been  honest 
and  straightforward,  and  that  his  petition  for  relief  was 
just.23  Accordingly  the  House  voted  the  desired  appropria 
tion  which  was  defeated  by  Calhoun's  friends  but  later 
granted  by  the  Senate.24  Thus,  vindicated  before  the  whole 
country  and  apparently  sustained  and  endorsed  in  his  sup 
port  of  the  Compromise,  Father  Ritchie  decided  to  retire. 
Calhoun  had  passed  to  the  great  beyond,  and  Clay  and  Web- 

18  Washington  Union,  January  2,  1851. 

20  See  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  February  12,  1851. 

21  Van  Buren   M88.,    Blair   to  Van   Buren,    September   20,   27    and 
December   26,    1850;    Ibid.,  January  22,    1851. 

22  Cong.    Globe,    31st   Cong.    2d    sess.,    p.    838. 

23  Washington   Union,  January  2,   16,  1851 ;   Ibid.,  March  15,  1851. 

24  Cong.  Globe,  32d  Cong,  2d  sess.,  XXVI,  p.  935. 


286  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

ster  were  about  to  follow.  With  the  passing  of  these  great 
lights  with  whom  he  had  worked  for  the  good  and  glory  of 
their  common  country,  his  opportunity  for  the  greatest  use 
fulness  had  ended.  Throughout  the  whole  Border  and  nota- 
hly  in  Virginia,  his  influence  had  been  a  power  in  recon 
ciling  the  dissatisfied  to  the  last  great  effort  to  save  the 
Union.25  In  his  own  mind  and  in  the  mind  of  others,  the 
object  of  his  mission  in  coming  to  Washington  had  been  at 
tained.26  Henceforth  the  ship  of  state  was  to  be  entrusted 
to  newer  and  younger  pilots.  That  they  might  be  able  freely 
to  select  their  own  bearings,  he  was  now  willing  to  retire. 
AccoTdingly  it  was  announced  that  after  April  15,  1851, 
Andrew  Jackson  Donaldson  assisted  by  General  Robert  Arm 
strong  would  edit  The  Union,  and  that  Father  Eitchie  would 
write  no  more  editorials.27 

Ritchie's  farewell,  closing  a  period  of  forty-seven  years 
as  an  editor,  is  deserving  of  more  than  passing  attention. 
Speaking  as  it  were  from  his  "political  death-bed,  with  all 
the  solemnity  and  responsibility  which  surrounded  the  con 
fessions  of  a  dying  man,"  he  told  the  story  of  how  his  influ 
ence  in  the  South  had  been  shorn  from  him  after  coming 
to  Washington  because  of  his  efforts  to  save  the  Union.  He 
rejoiced,  however,  in  the  fact  that  loss  in  one  theater  had 
been  met  by  gains  in  another,  which  he  had  been  able  to  use 
in  the  service  of  his  country  at  the  time  of  its  greatest  crisis. 
As  a  father  would  council  his  children,  he  warned  his  "coun 
trymen  at  the  North"  not  to  deceive  themselves,  "because" 
said  he,  "the  South  is  in  earnest."  It  would  certainly  insist 
upon  a  faithful  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law.  "For 
otherwise,"  said  he,  "the  Union  will  topple  to  the  ground. 
It  is  idle  to  talk  about  the  Union  alone.  We  must  preserve 
all  the  three  great  pillars  of  our  prosperity — the  Liberty  of 
the  People,  the  Rights  of  the  States,  and  the  Union  of  the 


25  Washington   Union,  March   11,   1851. 

™Goldsboro    (N.    C.)    Republican,    March    25,    1851;    Millcdgeville 
(Ga.)    Union,   March   25,    1851. 

"Washington    Union,    March    15,    1851. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  287 

States."  To  this  end  he  thought  it  imperative  that  they 
should  keep  their  hands  off  of  the  institutions  of  the  South, 
put  down  frcesoilism,  and,  in  keeping  with  his  own  ideas  of 
party  unity,  permit  no  man  to  reach  the  presidency  who 
would  not  disavow  "all  participation  with  fanatics."28 

His  advice  to  his  own  section  was  equally  paternal  and 
prophetic.  First  of  all  it  was  to  observe  th£  Compromise  and 
to  discountenance  any  man  "who  would  now  rush  into  seces 
sion."  Conscious  of  the  growing  nationality  of  the  South 
he  advised  loyalty  to  the  federal  Union,  "until  the  southern 
people  are  so  far  united  by  common  wrongs  as  to  be  given 
into  a  common  struggle  and  until  the  issue  is  fairly  made 
between  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  and  a  government  with 
out  limitation  of  powers."29  Thus  the  man  who  had  lived 
by  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions  was  ready  to  die 
by  them.  He  had  never  doubted  the  ultimate  right  of  a  sov 
ereign  state  to  secede. 

The  work;  of  reorganizing  the  Democratic  party  he  left 
to  younger  and  abler  hands.  He  was  certain  that  local  and' 
clashing  interests  would  arise,  but  saw  no  reason  why  they 
could  not  be  adjusted  by  the  "standard  of  the  constitution." 
He  also  saw  the  possibility  of  demagogic  leaders  arraying 
section  against  section  in  contests  over  the  presidency,  but 
he  was  certain  that  a  united  party,  for  which  he  had  always 
stood  and  made  many  a  sacrifice,  could  repress  ambitious 
leaders  and  settle  all  party  contests  in  deliberative  conven 
tions,  until  sucn  a  time  as  the  selection  of  the  President 
could  be  referred  directly  to  the  people. 

Very  appropriately  the  "Napoleon  of  the  Press,"  as 
Ritchie  was  called  in  his  day,  directed  his  last  paragraph  to 
his  fellow  editors.  From  the  very  beginning  of  his  editorial 
career  he  had  regarded  a  free  and  unsubsidized  press  as  the 
life  of  the  republic.  To  him  the  editorial  profession  was  one 
of  honor  and  dignity,  if  not  of  emolument.  To  meet  this 


28  Washington   Union,   April   15,   1851. 

29  Ibid. 


288  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

high  standard  he  insisted  that  it  must  be  conducted  with 
talent,  independence,  liberality,  courtesy,  and  decency.  He 
assured  his  fellow  editors  that  there  was  much  of  drudgery 
and  sacrifice  before  them,  but  begged  that  they  carry  into 
their  work  an  indomitable  spirit  which  would  quake  under 
no  fear,  except  that  which  came  from  a  neglect  of  duty  and 
a  reproof  of  conscience.  He  considered  energy  of  character 
insufficient  to  make  an  editor;  the  profession  required  en 
thusiasm.  A  survey  of  his  life  and  of  the  comments  made 
upon  it  at  the  time  of  his  retirement  affords  ample  proof 
that  he  lived  his  precepts. 

The  three  remaining  years  of  Ritchie's  life  were  passed 
in  retirement  in  his  own  home  at  Washington  or  in  his 
daughter's  home  on  the  James.  The  politics  of  the  press 
room  there  gave  way  to  the  joys  of  the  domestic  circle  and 
the  delights  of  social  intercourse.  None  knew  better  than 
he  how  to  use' leisure,  another  proof  of  his  greatness.  The 
Bible  which  had  been  his  constant  companion  through  life, 
the  classics,  and  even  music  now  became  sources  of  comfort 
and  delight,  and  his  beautiful  grandchildren  became  Eis  con 
stant  companions.  Meanwhile  he  was  not  forgotten  by  the 
public  which  he  had  served  so  faithfully.  Among  the  many 
honors  which  came,  his  election  to  honorary  membership  in 
the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  through  the  in 
fluence  of  his  friend,  Lyman  C.  Proper,  was  keenly  appre 
ciated. 

The  death  of  Henry  Clay,  which  occurred  in  1852,  called 
Ritchie  again  into  the  press,  but  only  as  a  contributor.  In 
the  presence  of  a  large  company  of  distinguished  men  he 
had  jokingly  promised  to  plant  a  laurel  upon  Clay's  grave, 
if  the  Compromise  of  1850  were  accepted.  Now  that  the 
venerable  statesman  had  passed  away  and  he  survived  him, 
Ritchie  took  his  promise  seriously.  It  afforded  an  oppor 
tunity  to  right  himself  with  the  only  man  whom  he  had  ever 
hated  and  consequently  treated  unjustly.  The  article  which 
he  prepared  for  the  press  on  this  occasion  reviewed  the  his 
tory  of  the  Great  Compromise  and  again  held  it  up  as  a 


A  STUDY  IN  VIKGINIA  POLITICS  289 

document  to  live  by.  In  terms  of  praise  and  admiration 
which  will  live  longer  than  any  floral  tribute  could  live,  it 
pictured  also  the  virtues  and  talents  of  the  Great  Compro 
miser  in  a  spirit  which  made  it  certain  that  the  past  had 
been  forgotten  and  that  Ritchie  could  die  at  peace  with  all 
men. 


THOMAS  RITCHIE 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   EDITOR  AND   THE   MAN. 

Ritchie  was  not  a  genius.  Either  of  the  others  of  the 
great  "Democratic  Triumvirate"  of  political  editors,  Francis 
P.  Blair  of  the  Washington  Globe,  or  Edwin  Croswell  of  the 
Albany  Argus,  was  his  equal  in  natural  ability.  Possibly 
John  Hampden  Pleasants,  Duff  Green,  and  even  others  sur 
passed  him  in  one  or  more  of  the  qualities  requisite  in  a 
great  editor.  In  versatility,  broadness  of  vision/  soundness 
of  judgment,  and  constructiveness,  any  of  a  half  score  of 
modern  editors  surpass  him.  Why  then  was  he  justly  called 
the  "Napoleon  of  the  Press"  ?  Some  would  say  that  it  was 
because  he  was  the  first  of  the  great  editors,  but  that  answer 
is  not  satisfactory  and  does  not  adhere  to  the  truth.  No  less 
distinguished  an  editor  than  Benjamin  Franklin  preceded 
him.  There  was  something  of  worth  in  the  man  himself, 
which  caused  him  to  live  and  to  bear  this  title  of  distinction. 
As  his  numerous  nicknames,  "Thomas  Nous  Verrons."  "Old 
Nous  Verrons,"  "Momentous  Crisis  Ritchie,"  "Obita  Prin- 
cipiis  Ritchie,"  "Old  State  Rights,"  "Father  Ritchie,"  etc., 
indicate  he  had  a  distinct  personality. 

Success  and  distinction  came  to  Thomas  Ritchie  because 
of  his  superior  tact,  his  sound  judgment,  his  genial  temper, 
his  persuasive  manner,  and  his  ability  to  worK.  He  knew 
bow  to  improve  a  victory  and  equally  well  how  to  recover 
I  from,  a  defeat,  characteristic  Napoleonic  traits;  he  seldom 
distrusted  a  friend  and  was  as  rarely  deceived  by  an  enemy ; 
he  never  surrendered  but  chivalrously  flung  away  his  sword 
the  moment  he  heard  the  cry  of  quarter;  he  counseled  with 
the  aged  without  becoming  obsolete  and  carressed  the  young 
without  becoming  an  enthusiast ;  he  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  sages  of  the  "Mother  of  Commonwealths"  and  was 
admired  for  his  sterling  character  and  devotion  to  principle 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  291 

throughout  the  nation;  he  united  Parisian  manners  with  re 
publican  simplicity  and  possessed  versatility  without  caprice, 
wit  without  malice,  grace  without  affectation,  courage  with 
out  Quixotism,  zeal  without  bigotry;  and  he  combined  with, 
his  broad  patriotism  an  intense  love  for  Virginia.  Like  our 
greatest  and  most  successful  lawyers,  he  never  fought  with 
out  an  object  and  beyond  the  pale  of  his  conscience.1  Then, 
too,  he  did  not  enter  the  field  of  national  politics  until  after 
he  had  distinguished  himself  as  the  recognized  spokesman 
of  a  great  state  in  the  center  of  the  border  section.  From 
this  strategic  point  his  vision  extended  to  the  very  outskirts 
of  the  nation  whence  it  gathered  facts  later  to  be  boiled  down 
in  the  crucible  of  conservatism  and  national  patriotism. 
Thus  he  became  an  oracle  foT  the  whole  country  and  a  guide 
for  all  other  editors  less  favorably  situated  and  constituted. 
It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  he  won  his  prestige 
when  the  American  press  was  comparatively  in  its  infancy 
and  when  Virginia  and  her  sons  were  directing  the  affairs 
of  the  nation.  After  Jefferson  and  Madison  passed  from  the 
stage  of  action  Ritchie  was,  through  some  of  our  greatest 
crises,  looked  to  as  the  oracle  whence  they  continued  to 
speak. 

Historians  and  casual  readers  have  done  Ritchie  a  grave 
injustice  by  handing  him  down  to  posterity  as  a  political 
boss  and  by  overlooking  the  importance  of  his  editorial 
career.  Such  a  verdict  is  not  surprising,  however,  in  the 
light  of  contemporary  comment  of  which  the  following  from 
the  New  York  Express  is  a  sample:  "If  anybody  ever  un 
derstood  the  politics  of  tne  Old  Dominion  it  was  Father 
Ritchie,  for  he  had  sounded  the  depths  of  all  the  abstractions 
of  that  old  Commonwealth  from  the  Resolutions  of  '98  to 
the  resolutions  of  1844,  when  a  new  era  seemed  to  dawn 
upon  the  Democracy  of  the  country."2  From  this  and  simi- 


1Claibourne,   J.   F.   H.,   Life  and   Times   of   Genera]   Sam  Dale,   p. 
200. 

2  Richmond  Enquirer,   July   7,   1854. 


292  THOMAS  EITCHIE 

lar  comments  it  was  easy  to  confuse  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  political  principles,  conditions,  and  methods  with  adept- 
ness  in  the  use  of  political  machinery,  at  which  art  Ritchie 
was  as  ignorant  and  as  helpless  as  a  child.  True,  there  are 
brief  periods  in  the  history  of  Virginia  when  his  influence 
and  organizing  power  seemed  to  dominate,  hut  it  is  also  true 
that  he  was  more  frequently  opposed  to  the  leading  poli 
ticians  of  that  state  than  in  accord  with  them.  The  methods 
of  the  boss  were  unknown  to  him.  During  the  twelve  years 
from  1829  to  1841,  when  he  was  a  power  at  the  federal 
court,  he  recommended  only  one  person  for  a  federal  ap 
pointment,  and  during  the  whole  term  of  his  service  as 
national  spokesman  for  his  party,  he  scrupulously  refrained 
from  any  part  in  the  distribution  of  the  patronage.  Cer 
tainly  Ritchie's  editorial  career  in  Washington,  when  he  be 
came  the  political  football  in  the  contest  between  the  North 
and  the  South  over  the  goal  to  be  reached  on  the  Pacific, 
argues  him  anything  else  than  a  practical  politician.  With 
him  knowledge  and  art  were  not  synonymous. 

If  destined  to  live  among  the  sons  of  men,  Ritchie  must 
be  known  as  a  great  editor.  His  influence  upon  men  came, 
not  from  a  skillful  use  of  political  machinery  but  from  an 
enthusiastic  adherence  to  fundamental  principles,  from  his 
power  and  versatility  as  a  writer,  and  from  his  unselfish  and 
patriotic  love  of  the  Union.  He  was  not  a  Tweed.  A  con 
temporary  of  opposite  political  faith  has  given  the  following 
explanation  of  his  great  power :  "It  proceeded  from  a  knowl 
edge  on  the  part  of  the  public  that  he  was  aiming  with  his 
whole  soul  to  promote,  as  far  as  he  thought  right,  the  public 
interest  and  particularly  to  sustain  Virginia  in  her  highly 
prized  principles,  and  to  sustain  her  in  the  ascendency 
among  the  states.  It  strengthened  in  the  confidence  felt  in 
his  disinterested  devotion  to  these  things  and  his  freedom 
from  selfish  aspirations  for  himself  and  his  friends."3  Had 
the  "Virginia  doctrines"  lived  as  the  popular  theory  of  the 

3  Richmond   Enquirer,    July   25,    1854. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  293 

nature  of  the  federal  government,  the  motto,  "The  Eights 
of  the  States  and  the  Union  of  the  States/'  would  to-day 
have  heen  as  popular  as  that  other  motto,  aThe  Union,  now 
and  forever.'  As  in  other  great  contests  so  in  this,  failure 
attracted  attention  to  the  minor  incidents  hy  which  it  was 
sustained  and  not  to  the  principles  involved.  In  the  light  of 
modern  developments,  when  section  is  being  arrayed  against 
section  and  interest  against  interest,  who  can  not  see  the 
possibility  for  a  resurrection  of  this  great  apostle  of  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  sovereign  states  of  America  and 
of  the  classical  school  of  thinkers  in  politics  and  economy? 
Should  that  time  ever  come,  it  would  be  as  impossible  to 
think  of  Ritchie  as  a  mere  politician  as  it  is  now  impossible 
to  think  of  Webster  in  that  role. 

To  Ritchie  more  than  to  any  one  of  his  contemporaries 
the  press  of  to-day  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  high 
ethical  conceptions  which  lie  brought  to  and  made  a  part  of 
his  profession.  Although  caustic  and  at  times  severe  in  his 
attacks  upon  public  men  he  never  rioted  in  an  unnecessary 
massacre  of  private  character  and  always  proceeded  to  such 
attacks  with  the  recollection  that  he  too  had  a  character  of 
generosity  and  liberality  to  maintain  and  that  abuse  and 
scurrility  are  not  always  antidotes  for  ignorance  and  vice. 
When  he  entered  the  editorial  profession  the  Billingsgate  of 
foreigners  was  its  chief  characteristic,  necessitating  as  it 
had  done  the  enactment  of  the  sedition  laws  and  rendering 
the  profession  dangerous  to  life  and  limb.  Actuated  by  a 
high  conception  of  his  calling  and  the  importance  of  a  free 
press  as  the  basis  of  popular  government,  he  sought  to  rem 
edy  these  conditions  by  proposing  to  his  fellow  editors  a  code 
of  rules,  which  served  to  elevate  the  tone  of  the  press  of 
the  whole  country  and  to  put  the  editorial  profession  upon  a 
higher  plane.4 

Ritchie's  exertions  did  not  end  with  an  effort  to  purify 
editorial  ethics.  Throughout  his  whole  career  he  lost  no  op- 

4  See  Richmond  Enquirer,  November  7,   1800. 


294  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

portunity  to  elevate  the  personnel  of  the  press  and  to  increase 
its  usefulness.  It  was  he  who  called  and  presided  over  the- 
first  convention  of  editors  held  in  this  country.  A  review  of 
his  address  on  that  occasion  (the  convention  met  at  Rich 
mond  in  January,  18*38)  furnishes  ample  evidence  of  his 
multitudinous  services  to  his  profession.  After  humorous 
references  to  the  fact  that  he  was  already  called  athe  ven 
erable,"  he  dwelt  at  length  upon  the  magic  power  of  the 
press  in  promoting  the  progress  of  art,  extending  the  sphere 
of  science,  and  in  keeping  alive  a  spirit  of  vigilance  over 
the  republic.  The  irksomeness  of  tasks  "still  beginning, 
never  ending"  in  rolling  the  stone  of  Sisyphus  up  the  moun 
tain  and  in  listening  to  the  going  and  returning  footsteps  of 
"the  poor  Devil"  had  not  stolen  the  joys  of  his  prison  house, 
"the  editorial  department,  and  he  admonished  his  co-editors, 
each  as  poorly  paid  as  himself,  to  aim  for  something  higher 
than  fortune,  for  a  position  of  distinction  and  power  as  con 
structive  members  of  society.  In  the  distinction,  high  stand 
ing  and  power  of  the  editors  of  the  London  Examiner  and 
the  Edinburgh  Review  he  saw  encouragement  for  every 
patriotic  American  editor  who  was  willing  to  devote  his  best 
to  his  profession  and  to  cast  off  the  maliciousness  and  licen 
tiousness  of  the  press  in  an  honest  effort  to  raise  the  tone 
of  the  public  morals  and  to  strengthen  the  character  of  the 
public  councils.5  Thoughts  of  our  present  subsidized  and 
commercialized  press  seem  never  to  have  crossed  his  mental 
^vision. 

As  in  most  other  things  Ritchie  lived  his  precepts  of  in 
dustry  and  application.  The  demands  upon  him  were  great. 
During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Richmond  he  was  the 
moving  spirit  in  almost  every  public  gathering,  the  manager 
of  public  balls  and  dinners,  the  toastmaster  for  great  occa 
sions,  such  as  that  when  Charles  Dickens,  on  his  second 
visit  to  America,  was  received  as  the  guest  of  the  city,  the 
liospitable  host  of  the  politicians,  and  the  faithful  reporter 

*  Richmond  Enquirer,  January   17,  23,  1838. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  295 

of  the  proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly  and  of  all  con 
ventions  whatsoever,  except  those  in  which  the  hated  Whigs 
held  their  councils  of  war.  After  a  night  spent  in  conviv 
iality  or  in  study  (he  did  not  retire  before  three  in  the  morn 
ing),  an  attenuated  form,  thin  and  wan&rand  apparently 
wasted  to  a  shadow,  appeared  clad  in  civilian  suit  with  white 
Marseilles  vest,  thin  pumps,  and  white  socks  on  schedule 
time  at  the  office  of  the  Enquirer.  Through  heat  and  cold, 
snow  and  rain,  mire  and  dust,  Father  Ritchie  was  always 
the  same  both  in  dress  and  manner.  When  Congress  and  the 
General  Assembly  were  in  session,  work  piled  upon  him 
thick  and  fast,  and  he  then  frequently  carried  to  his  home 
large  bun-dies  of  exchanges  and  copy  bound  in  his  white 
cambric  handkerchief.  Under  such  circumstances  it  was  his 
habit  to  retire  to  an  upper  apartment  of  his  residence,  for 
the  time  ceiled  to  the  world,  where  in  dressing  gown  and 
slippers  and  frequently  upon  the  flat  of  his  back  with  two 
large  candle  sticks  at  his  head,  he  examined  exchanges  and 
produced  those  editorials  which  shaped  the  political  think 
ing  of  others  and  won  for  their  modest  and  retiring  author 
the  name  of  a  "managing  politician."6 

This  disinterested  devotion  to  duty  and  to  principle 
largely  explains  that  stoicism  and  heartlessness  with  which 
Ritchie  could  change  his  course  and  strike  down  a  friend 
without  remorse.  As  his  editorials  constantly  show,  the  im 
mortal  examples  of  Roman  patriotism  were  his  constant 
sources  of  inspiration,  inspiring  as  they  did  others  of  the 
fathers  who,  like  Ritchie,  could  have  played  the  role  of  a 
Brutus.  Thus  it  was  that  he  favored  the  abolition  of  negro 
slavery  in  1832,  following  the  Southampton  insurrection, 
and  the  retention  of  the  state  banks  as  depositories  of  the 
federal  moneys,  later  to  become  the  very  Cerberus  of  the 
South's  "peculiar  institutions"  and  a  most  violent  opponent 
of  W.  C.  Rives  who  continued  friendly  to  the  "pet  banks." 

*  Hudson,  History  of  Journalism,  p.  270 ;  Richmond  Enquirer, 
July  24,  1854. 


296  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

Thus  it  was  that  he  struck  down  Van  Buren  in  1844,  with 
out,  so  far  as  he  himself  was  concerned,  going  beyond  the 
pale  of  his  friendship  or  the  possibility  of  a  reconciliation. 
It  is  not  strange  that  his  ideas  and  principles,  when  acted 
out  in  the  life  of  that  body  politic  which  he  did  more  to 
shape  than  any  other,  except  possibly  Thomas  Jefferson, 
carried  eastern  Virginia  out  of  the  Union  in  1861  and  kept 
western  Virginia  loyal  to  it. 

In  one  very  essential  particular  Ritchie  was  a  complete 
failure  as  an  editor.  Though  himself  the  impersonation  of 
honesty  and  square  dealing,  he  was  ignorant  in  matters  of 
domestic  and  business  economy.  His  accounts  went  uncol- 
lected  until  they  aggregated  thousands  and  were  then  fre 
quently  forgotten.  After  Van  Buren  had  ceased  to  be  his 
political  friend,  he  was  forced  to  a  use  of  strategy  in  an 
effort  to  pay  his  arrears  to  the  Examiner.  With  a  large  and 
extravagant  family  to  maintain  and  educate,  with  a  home 
a  center  of  the  hospitality  of  hospitable  Richmond,  and  with 
tastes  better  suited  to  spending  than  to  accumulating  a  for 
tune,  Ritchie  was  kept  constantly  to  the  wall.  At  times  his 
dependence  upon  friends  and  banks  for  loans  embarassed 
him  as  an  editor,  and,  in  an  evil  hour  of  his  fame,  it  was 
the  hope  of  remedying  his  finances  that  induced  him  to  go 
to  Washington.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  and  deserved 
relief  extended  by  Congress,  he  would  doubtless  have  died  in 
poverty. 

Ritchie's  home  life  was  ideal.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine  he  had  married  Miss  Isabella  Harminson  Foushee, 
daughter  of  Dr.  William  Foushee,  a  distinguished  physician 
of  Richmond.  To  this  marriage  were  born  twelve  children : 
Isabella,  always  referred  to  by  her  father  in  his  correspon 
dence  as  "my  dear  Bell,"  Mary,  John,  William  Foushee, 
Robert  Ruffin,  Margaret,  Thomas,  Jr.,  Charlotte,  Frances, 
Anne  Eliza,  George,  and  Virginia.  In  the  midst  of  this 
large  and  charming  family  circle  Father  Ritchie  appeared 
at  his  best,  the  beau  ideal  of  a  gentleman  of  the  model  of  the 
old  French  school  and  a  kind  and  indulgent  parent.  The 


A  STUDY  ix  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  297 

sons  received  the  best  education  obtainable  in  this  country, 
and  William  F.  spent  some  years  abroad  in  a  study  of  the 
modern  languages.  The  daughters  received  training  in  the 
private  schools  of  Richmond  and  under  the  direction  of  their 
father  who  spent  many  an  hour  in  their  instruction.  To 
them  he  was  peculiarly  tender  and  affectionate.  When 
speaking  of  them  to  friends  and  acquaintances,  it  is  said, 
that  his  eyes  sparkled  with  that  pleasure  which  evinces  true 
satisfaction  and  pride.  He  also  loved  his  grandchildren,  and 
a  large  part  of  his  holidays  and  of  the  period  of  his  retire 
ment  was  spent  in  romping  with  them  upon  the  green  lawn 
or  in  the  halls  of  the  palatial  home  of  his  dear  Bell  at  Bran 
don.  Both  children  and  grandchildren  had  his  first  thoughts 
and  deepest  interests.  On  the  occasion  of  the  birth  of  his 
fifth  daughter  and  eighth  child  he  wrote  his  brother  Archi 
bald  as  follows :  "What  a  load  upon  a  man  to  do  justice  by 
such  a  crowd  and  give  them  all  a  good  education.  However,, 
they  must  do  as  well  as  they  can  for  themselves  (the  boys, 
of  course,  I  mean).  As  to  the  girls,  they  must  behave  well 
and  try  to  fix  themselves  as  well  as  they  can,  or  live  con 
tentedly  without  extravagance  in  their  father's  house." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  children  thus  carefully  reared 
rarely  'fell  short  of  their  father's  expectations.  Isabella 
married  George  E.  Harrison  and  became  the  mistress  of 
Brandon,  whence  her  famed  hospitality  extended  through 
out  the  states  and  even  to  Europe;  Mary  became  Mrs. 
Thomas  Green.  William  F.  became  the  editor  and  proprie 
tor  of  the  Enquirer,  which  he  continued  to  edit  with  marked 
ability  even  into  the  period  of  the  War  between  the  States, 
always  adhering  to  the  conservative  and  conciliatory  policy 
of  his  father.  Robert  Ruffin  was  a  distinguished  physician 
and  practiced  in  the  vicinity  of  Brandon.  Margaret  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  King  Stone,  a  celebrated  physician  of 
Washington  and  a  friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  May  22,  1854,  about  six  weeks 
before  that  of  his  father,  Thomas,  Jr.,  was  associated  with 
his  brother  as  joint  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Enquirer. 


298  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

It  was  he  who  accepted  a  challenge  in  an  affair  of  honor 
which  resulted  fatally  to  John  Hampden  Pleasants  and  cast 
a  shadow  over  his  own  life  to  the  tinle  of  his  death.  Char 
lotte  married  John  Gittings,  and  Anne  Eliza,  a  famous 
beauty,  became  Mrs.  William  B.  Cross.  George  died  while 
yet  a  young  man,  and  Virginia  never  married  but,  after  her 
sister's  death,  continued  to  reside  at  Brandon  and  to  shave 
in  the  distribution  of  its  hospitality. 

Thus  Ritchie  had  lived  to  see  most  of  his  children  hap 
pily  married  and  some  of  them  on  the  road  to  service  and 
even  to  fame;  he  himself  had  a  comfortable  living;  friends 
were  respectful  and  appreciative;  and  the  joys  of  the  several 
firesides  around  which  he  was  called  grandfather  were 
sources  of  true  comfort  and  delight.  These  were  certainly 
suitable  blessings  for  a  stormy  life  spent  in  the  service  of 
others,  and  human  justice  would  have  continued  them  in 
definitely.  But  the  God  of  nature  decreed  otherwise.  Be 
neath  the  outer  cover  of  cheer  and  vigor  the  iron  constitu 
tion  of  the  venerable  editor  was  wearing  slowly  away.  When 
his  final  illness  came  he  expressed  the  belief  that  he  would 
never  recover ;  nevertheless,  he  was  calm  and  poised,  patient 
and  benevolent,  conversing  freely  and  frankly  upon  public 
affairs  and  uttering  his  counsels  and  warnings  with  his  usual 
tone  and  power,  and  declaring,  as  he  had  ever  done,  that  his 
solicitude  for  his  country  was  high  and  buoyant. 

On  many  notable  occasions  the  pealing  anthems  of  our 
national  anniversary  have  mingled  with  the  requiem  and  the 
dirge  of  statesmen  and  patriots,  but  never  did  they  fall  upon 
a  nobler,  purer  soul  than  that  of  Thomas  Ritchie.  He  died 
at  12  o'clock  noon,  July  3,  1854.  Following  a  brief  funeral 
service  which  was  attended  by  the  President,  members  of  hi? 
cabinet,  scores  of  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress, 
and  a  vast  concourse  of  loving  admirers,  his  remains  were 
taken  to  Richmond  and  laid  to  rest  in  Hollywood  at  a  beau 
tiful  spot  overlooking  the  James  which  he  loved  and  by  the 
side  of  which  his  greatest  battles  ha-d  been  won.  The  in 
scriptions  upon  his  monument  are  those  that  Ritchie  him- 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  299 

self  might  have  selected.  In  one  side  this  appears :  "In 
memory  of  Thomas  Ritchie,  founder  of  the  Richmond  En 
quirer,  and  for  more  than  forty  years,  the  controlling  spirit 
of  that  Journal,"  and  on  another  this  expressive  character 
ization:  "He  never  turned  his  back  upon  his  country,  was 
always  devoted  to  his  friends,  and  never  dreaded  his 
enemies," 

Regardless  of  party  affiliations  the  press  of  the  whole 
country  hastened  to  pay  tribute  to  the  venerable  dead.  His 
political  enemies,  for  he  had  few  others,  had  never  hated 
him  personally,  the  charm  of  his  personal  purity  having 
made  even  them  to  be  "at  peace  with  him."  Of  the  many 
tributes  paid  to  him  the  following  from  the  Washington  Sen 
tinel,  then  edited  by  a  man  whom  he  had  practically  reared, 
is  the  most  appropriate  for  this  biography: 

"No  impure  thought  ever  found  a  resting  place  in  that  old  man's 
heart.  The  world  thought  that  he  was  shrewd  and  cunning,  but  the  world 
did  not  know  him.  Mr.  Ritchie  was  a  plain,  free  spoken  man  with  intense 
personal  attachments,  and,  we  believe,  without  an  animosity  toward  a 
living  man.  For  fifty  years  he  has  been  an  active  combatant.  He  has 
gone  down  to  the  tomb  without  an  enemy."  T 

Ritchie  died  as  he  had  lived,  a  patriot,  loyal  to  the  whole 
country  and  true  to  his  original  conception  of  the  nature  of 
the  federal  government.  At  the  time  of  his  death  all  efforts, 
to  compromise  the  differences  between  the  North  and  the 
South  seemed  futile,  and  he  was  distressed  to  see  the  states 
again  estranged  and  the  stars  of  the  great  constellation  of 
commonwealths  dimmed  and  unstable  in  their  spheres.  Un 
like  the  venerable  George  Mason  he  di <I  not,  however,  despair 
of  the  republic.  In  the  closing  paragraph  of  his  last  will 
and  testament,8  which  is  its  own  apology  for  quoting  here 
as  the  closing  paragraph  of  this  biography,  he,  in  a  patriotic 
retrospect  of  the  past  and  vision  of  the  future  and  in  a  con 
cise  statement  of  his  own  political  philosophy,  dedicated  his. 
sons  to  the  public  service.  Said  he: 

'Richmond  Enquirer,  July  7,   1854. 
*Ibid.,  July  25,  1854. 


300  THOMAS  KITCHIE 

"I  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  watch  over  the 
interests  of  the  country  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  such  a  free 
and  glorious  country  as  this  is!  Who  is  not  proud  of  her  destiny? 
Who  is  not  willing  to  give  his  services  and  even  his  life  to  the  main 
tenance  of  the  great  principles  on  which  her  free  and  federal  institutions 
are  based?  America  has  made  one  of  the  greatest  political  discoveries 
which  the  world  has  witnessed:  a  form  of  government  which  reserves  to 
the  states  and  their  people  the  power  of  regulating  most  of  the  functions 
which  appertain  to  government,  leaving  but  very  few  powers,  and  they 
only  of  the  most  general  and  yet  important  character,  to  the  jurisdic 
tion  of  the  federal  authortities.  Hence  the  specification  which  is  made 
in  the  constitution  of  those  powers,  which  the  United  States  are  to 
exercise  in  their  legitimate  sphere;  and  hence  the  necessity  of  watching 
over  the  operation  of  the  machinery  and  repairing  its  excesses,  when  it 
threatens  the  rights  of  the  States.  We  are  already  the  greatest  power 
among  the  nations.  We  are  destined  to  be  greater  still,  but  let  us  not  be 
too  ambitious,  or  too  rapid  in  our  advances.  Let  us  fill  up  the  immense 
territory  which  we  own.  Let  us  not  be  too  anxious  to  step  our  foot 
from  the  mainland  to  the  islands,  unless  indeed,  as  in  the  case  of  Cuba, 
we  are  threatened  by  the  barbarization  of  that  beautiful  island  and  its 
conversion  into  a  black  and  hostile  neighborhood.  Let  us  not  deny  to 
the  inhabitants  of  other  lands  (evidently  a  warning  against  the  Native 
American  movement  and  the  Knownothings)  a  free  asylum  into  our  own 
shores;  but  let  us  confine  ourselves  to  the  operation  of  natural  causes. 
Iri  this  way  we  may  best  acclimate  the  emigrant  to  our  free  institutions. 
Preserve  both  the  Rights  of  the  Union  and  the  Rights  of  the  States 
These  are  the  two  great  pillars  of  American  prosperity  and  glory." 


A  STUDY  ix  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  301 


APPENDIX  I. 

GENEALOGY  OF  WILLIAM  ROANE  AND  MARY  UrsurR.1 

1.  Thomas  Roane  x  Mary  A.  Hipkitis. 

Children:  Sarah  x  Archibald  Campbell  who  left  a  son 
Hugh  x  Nancy  Gatewood  and  Mary  Fleet;  Margaret  x  A.  C. 
Harwood  and  Thomas  Garnett  and  left,  by  the  first  marriage, 
Archibald  R.  and  Thomas  Harwood  and,  by  the  second,  Henry, 
James,  John  R.,  Annie  M.  and  Emily  C.  Garnett;  Alice  x 
Sterling  Ruffin  whose  children  were  Judge  Thomas  Ruffin  of 
N.  C.  x  Annie  Kirkland,  Minerva  x  Edward  Delany  and  George 
McNiel,  father  of  Rev.  George  and  Rev.  James  McNiel,  Mary 
R.  x  William  Cain,  William  ,  James  H.  of  N.  C.  and  Ala.  x 
Susan  Williams;  Molly  and  Mary;  Rebecca  x  Richard  Barnes; 
Martha  Hipkins  x  Archibald  Ritchie  whose  children  were  Janet 
x  Richard  Rowzee,  Juliet  x  Dr.  Clopton  and  Mr.  Roy,  and 

Archibald    x    Miss    Spindle;    the    eight    child    ( )  "never 

married;  Lucy  x  Edwin  Upshur ;  Catherine  x  Archibald  Ruffin 
of  N.  C. :  Archibald;  Thomas  x  Mary  A.  Wilson  and  left  Char 
lotte,  Maria  x  Dr.  A.  B.  Westmore,  Isabella  x  Horace  Waring. 
Lawrence  and  Thomas:  William;  Samuel;  and  John  x  Agnes 
Kazier. 

The  children  of  Janet  (nee)  Ritchie  and  Richard  Rowzee  were 
Mary  x  Mr.  McDonald,  Juliet  x  Dr.  James  Latane",  and  Archibald  x 
Katharine  Lewis.  Dr.  James  Latane  left  four  children:  Anne  Bur- 
well  x  R.  L.  Ware  whose  children  are  Edward  M.,  Robert  L.,  Wm.  L., 
Henry  H.,  Burwell,  Ritchie,  John,  and  Catsby;  Janet  Roane  Ritchie 
x  William  Campbell  whose  children  are  Janet  x  Alfred  Bagby,  Anne 
x  R.  C.  Williams,  Mary,  Wade  H.,  and  Courtney  x  R.  G.  Neale; 
Rev.  William  Catsby  Latane  x  Miss  Wilson  and  left  Wilson,  Janet 
Ritchie,  Henry  A.,  William  C.,  Lawrence  W.,  James,  and  Bettie  W. ; 
and  Mary  8.  x  M.  S.  Sale  whose  children  are  Mrs.  Meri wether  Smith, 
Charles,  Dandridge,  Latane,  Ritchie,  Lewis,  and  Mrs.  Alger  Shaw. 

2.  John  Roane  x  Miss  Jones  of  Middlesex. 

Children:  John  of  King  William  county,  who  was  for 
many  years  a  representative  in  Congress,  and  Molly  x  James 
Ruffin  who  left  Robert  x  Lucy  Roane  and  Mis-s  Raskins,  John, 
James  x  Agnes  Dandridge,  Lucy  x  Mr.  Haskins,  Thomas,  and 
Sterling. 

3.  William  Roane  x  Judy  Ball  of  the  Northern  Neck. 

Children:     Thomas;    Spencer,    President    of    the    Virginia 
Court  of  Appeals  and  father  of  W.  H.  Roane  who  was  a  repre 
sentative  and  senator  in  Congress;  Judy  x  Mr.  Proudfit;   Sarah 
x  James  Dykes  who  left  a  daughter,  Sarah  x  William  Bernard. 
The  children  of  Williani  Bernard  and  his  wife,  Sarah,  were  Eliza 

1  For  years  this  genealogy  has  been  preserved  on  a  piece  of  card 
board  in  Lower  Brandon.  Few  additions  have  been  made  to  it,  and 
these  only  by  parties  who  were  themselves  interested. 


302  THOMAS  RITCHIE 

Frances  x  Thomas  Seinmes,  Professor  at  V.  M.  I.  x  Louise  Brocken- 
brough  whose  children  are  Mrs.  Howard  Jones,  Bernard,  Alice  x  Corse, 
Louise  x  Brooks,  and  Thomas,  and  Sarah  Ann  x  Judge  John  A.  Mere 
dith  who  had  twelve  children,  William  B.,  James,  Walter,  Mary  Ella, 
S'arah  Roane,  Eliza  B.  x  J.  Preston  Cocke,  Charles  V.  x  Sophy  G. 
Rose,  Edward  D.  x  Lelia  Withers,  John,  Julian,  Wyndham  R.  x  Ann 
Marson,  and  Lelia  B.  x  Richard  I.  Manning,  J.  Preston  Cocke's  chil 
dren  are  Ella  M.,  Edmonia  Madison  Randolph,  Sarah  B.,  and  Eliza 
beth  P.  Chas  V.  Meredith's  children  are  Katie  Rose  x  Max  L.  Talbot. 
Sophie  R.,  Sarah  B.,  and  Bernard.  Wyndham  R.  Meredith's  children 
are  John  A,,  Marion,  and  Alice.  Richard  I.  Manning's  children  are 
Sarah  B.  x  Rev.  Alfred  Berkeley,  Richard  L,  John  M.,  Wm.  S.  x  Barbara 
Brodie,  Vivian  M.  x  Adair  McDowell,  Bernard,  W7yndham  M.,  Eliza 
beth,  St.  George  S.,  Laelius  M.,  Burwell  D.,  John  Adger,  and  Preston 
Cocke. 

4.  Molly  Roane  x  Archibald  Ritchie. 

Children:  Col.  Archibald,  who  commanded  in  the  Second 
War  with  Great  Britain,  x  Martha  Hipkins  Roane  (see  descen 
dants  of  Thomas  Roane)  ;  Margaret  x  William  Ruffin  of  N.  C. : 
Janet  x  Dr.  Buckner  of  Ky. ;  William,  Captain  John,  who  fell  in 
an  engagement  near  Lunday's  Lane;  Thomas,  founder  of  the 
Richmond  Enquirer,  x  Isabella  Harminson  Foushee;  and  Molly 
x  Mr.  Hopper  and  Gov.  Robert  Brooke,  of  Va. 

To  Thomas  Ritchie  and  his  wife,  Isabella,  twelve  children  were 
born:  Isabella  H.  x  Goerge  Evelyn  Harrison  of  Brandon;  Mary  Roane 
x  Thomas  Green;  John;  William  Foushee  x  Anna  Core  Mowatt,  nee 
Ogden,  the  celebrated  actress;  Dr.  Robert  Ruffin;  Thomas;  Margaret 
F.  x  Robert  King  Stone,  the  friend  and  physician  of  Abaham  Lincoln : 
Charlotte  Carter  x  John  S'erret  Gittings :  Frances  Gantier;  Ann  Eliza, 
the  celebrated  beauty,  x  Wm.  B.  Cross;  George  Harrison;  and  Virginia. 

George  Evelyn  Harrison  and  his  wife,  Isabella,  had  two  children. 
George  Evelyn  x  Guhilma  Clifford  Gordon  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  and 
Isabella  Ritchie.  George  Evelyn  Harrison  and  his  wife,  Guhilma, 
left  five  children:  Guhilma  Gordon  x  Richard  Cuyler;  George  Evelyn 
x  Mary  Walker  and  left  two  children,  Evelyn  Byrd  and  Virginia 
Ritchie;  William  Gordon  x  Sadie  King  and  left  two  children,  William 
Gordon  and  George  Evelyn  -.Isabella  Ritchie  x  Stephen  Decatur  Mayo: 
and  Robert  Clifford  x  Eliza  McKay  Huger  and  left  two  children, 
Isabella  and  Joe  Huger. 

Thomas  Green  and  his  wife,  Mary  Roane,  left  six  children: 
Isabella  Foushee  x  Wm.  Jessup  Ward  whose  children  were  Mary 
Roane,  Wm.  J.,  Charles  R.,  and  George  x  Eliza  Byrd  Page;  Thomas 
Ritchie;  Julia  Peyton  ;  William  Carter;  Emily  Smith  x  Sydney  Ashe 
Legare  of  South  Carolina  whose  children  were  James,  Sarah  Seabrook 
who  married  Morton  Waring  Simmons,  Balie  Peyton  x  Liefji  von 
Herwerden,  Sydney  A.,  Thomas  Green,  Marie  Stone,  and  Sydney 
Claude;  Bernard  Peyton. 

Dr.  Robert  King  Stone  and  his  wife,  Margaret  F.,  had  three  chil 
dren,  Jane  Southall  x  Dr.  George  Byrd  Harrison,  Isabella,  and  Thomas 
Ritchie  x  Lelia    Whitney.     Dr.  George  Byrd  Harrison  left  two  children. 
William  Evelyn  and  Margaret  Ritchie,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Ritchie  Stone 
left  two  children,  Lillian  Garnett  x  George  Appleby  and  Robert   King. 


A  STUDY  IN  VIRGINIA  POLITICS  303 

5.  Sarah  Roane  x  John  Brockenbrough. 

Children:  John,  President  of  the  Bank  of  Virginia,  x  Mrs. 
Mann  Randolph;  William,  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Virginia,  x  Judith  White;  Lucy  x  James  Cox;  Arthur;  Thomas; 
and  Dr.  Austin*. 

Sarah  Jane,  eldest  daughter  of  Judge  Wm.  Brockenbrough,  x 
Edward  Colston  whose  children  were  Elizabeth  Marshall  x  R.  Alfred 
Williams  whose  children  were  Alfred  B.  x  Mary  Brice,  Edward  Dan- 
dridge,  Rosalie  B.  x  Wm.  E.  Page;  Mary  Brockenbrough  x  Wm.  Leigh 
whose  children  were  Benj.  Watkins,  Edward  Colston,  Wm.  Robinson, 
Elizabeth  M.,  and  Thomas;  Raleigh,  killed  in  the  War  between  the 
States;  Wm.  B.  x  Minnie  Summers  and  left  children,  Susan,  Jane, 
Elizabeth  Marshall  x  Wm.  Trapnell,  and  Sophia  Hunter  x  Wm.  Corn 
wall;  Lucy  B.  x  Bennet  Taylor;  Minnie  x  Dr.  Michie;  Edward  x  Sally 
Stevenson  and  Mary  Stevenson. 

Judge  Wm.  Brockervbrough's  'second  child,  John  W.,  Judge  of  the 
U.  S.  District  Court  for  western  Virginia^  x  Mary  Bouyyer  and  left 
Bowyer  x  Alice  Murrell,  William  x  Miss  Major,  Willoughby  Newton 
x  Miss  Thomas,  Louisa  x  Thomas  M.  S'emmes,  Robet  L.  x  Miss  Grasty, 
and  Frank. 

Judge  Wm.  Broekenbrough's  third  child  was  Elizabeth  x  Mr. 
Philips,  and  the  fourth,  Mary,  x  Willoughby  Newton  to  whom  was 
born  John  B.,  x  Roberta  Page  Williamson;  Hon.  Willoughby  whose 
children  were  Mary  Mann  Page  and  Win.  B.,  Sally  x  John  Phillips 
Smith  whose  children  were  Willoughby  Newton,  Mary  Newton,  Wil 
liam  Newton,  and  Raleigh  Colston. 

Judge  Wm.  Broekenbrough's  fifth  child  was  William  and  the 
sixth,  July  x  Rev.  J.  P.  McGuire  whose  daughter,  Fenton  x  Rev. 
Kinlach  Nelson.  His  second  daughter,  Emily,  x  Phillip  Nelson. 

6.  Lucy  Roane  x  Richard  Barnes. 

Children:  Richard  x  Rebecca  Roane  to  whom  was  born 
Lucy  x  Mr.  Branham,  Maria  x  Phillip  Claiborne,  Charlotte  x 
Mr.  Wright,  Thomas,  Richard,  and  Arthur. 

6.  Lucy  Roane  x  Moore  F&ntelroy  Brockenbrough. 

Children:     Col.    Moore   F.   x    ( )    whose   children 

were  Walter,  Littleton,  John  M.  of  the  C.  S.  Army,  ( ) 

x  W.  R.  Aylett,  Ella,  and  Edward ;  and  two  daughters. 


INDEX 

"A.  B."  plot,  suggested  by  Edwards,  93. 

Abolition,  beginnings  of,  100;  opposed  in  Virginia,  165;  considered  a 
political  move,  167;  in  local  politics,  175;  attacked  by  Ritchie, 
207;  influenced  by  Texas  agitation,  222. 

Adams,  Dr.  John,  16. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  author  of  Monroe  Doctrine,  84;  candidate  for 
presidency,  85;  popular  in  New  England,  88;  characteristics,  89; 
elected  President,  99 ;  first  message  to  Congress,  101 ;  use  of 
General  Survey  Act,  115;  visited  Richmond,  244. 

Agriculture,  chair  of  in  University,  221. 

Albany  Regency,  loyalty  to  Crawford,  94;   influence  upon  Ritchie,  153. 

Alexander,  Nath.,  opposed  gradual  emancipation,  166. 

Allen,  Senator  William,  opposed  Ritchie,  261;  defended  Ritchie,  266; 
dissatisfaction  with  Ritchie,  276. 

Ambler,  Jacqueline,  Justice  Marshall's  father-in-law,   16. 

Ambler,  Major  John,  16. 

American  System,  popular  in  Virginia,  87 ;  popular  in  western  Vir 
ginia,  149. 

Anderson,  John  T.,  letter  to  Mr.  O'Callaghan,  213. 

Archer,  Wm.  S'.,  democratic  leader,  139;  opposed  Proclamation,  152; 
joined  Whig  party,  161. 

Atlanta   (Ga.)   Chronicle,  comments  upon  Ritchie,  173. 

Baker,  John,  Federalist,  56. 

Baldwin,  B.  G.,  member  of  constitutional  convention,  121. 

Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Co.,  chartered,  115. 

Bancroft,  George,  Secretary  of  Navy,  2GO. 

Banks,  Linn,  speaker  of  H.  of  Delegates,  164. 

Banks  and  banking,  first  bank  in  Virginia,  26;  proposed  re-charter  of 
Bank  of  U.  S.,  51;  movement  for,  in  western  Virginia,  66; 
banks  incorporated  at  Winchester  and  Wheeling,  67 ;  bank  of 
U.  S'.,  re-chartered,  72;  branch  bank  of  Bank  of  U.  S.  in  Rich 
mond,  72;  attacks  upon  Bank  of  U.  S.,  74;  Richmond  monopoly, 
177;  independent  treasury,  194;  "free  banking"  system  opposed 
by  Ritchie,  208. 

Barbour,  James,  supported  Adams,  89 ;  member  of  cabinet,  103. 

Barbour,  P.  P.,  elected  to  Congress,  73;  member  of  anti-tariff  con 
vention,  143;  candidate  for  vice-presidency,  146. 

"Barnburners,"  political  faction,  246. 

Bayly,  Gen,  T.  H.,  negotiations  with  Ritchie,  247;  accompanied  Ritchie 
to  see  Clay,  281. 


Benton,  Thomas  H.,  for  annexation  of  Texas,  129;  hard  money  policy, 
187;  popular  in  Virginia,  191;  "Great  Expunger,"  192;  sug 
gested  for  presidency,  211;  for  Van  Buren,  1844,  227;  suggested 
for  presidency,  241;  opposed  annexation  of  Texas,  251;  friend 
of  Blair,  252;  interest  in  internal  improvements,  271. 

Biddle,  Nicholas,  ridiculed  by  Ritchie,  149. 

Blair,  F.  P.,  editor,  69 ;  editor  of  Jack'sonian  organ,  109 ;  editor  of 
Globe,  137;  efforts  to  depose,  246;  retired  from  Globe,  255; 
supported  Van  Buren  for  presidency,  1848,  268;  rejoiced  in 
Ritchie's  failures,  276. 

Boston  Repertory,  opposed  embargo,  46. 

Brandon,  on  James,  207. 

Breckenridge,  James,  Federalist,  56. 

Brockenbrough,  Dr.  John,  marriage,  15;  social  leader,  15;  banker,,  27; 
for  war  with  Great  Britain,  43;  war-hawk,  57;  member  of  anti- 
tariff  convention,  143 ;  consulted  Van  Buren  about  financial  con 
ditions,  193;  suggested  independent  treasury,  194;  supported 
Van  Buren,  205;  suggested  for  governor,  212. 

Brooke,  Judge,  Clay's  friend,   137. 

Brown,  Aaron  V.,  comment  on  Texas,  235;  hostility  to  Blair,  246. 

Buchanan,  James,  favored  treasury  system,  194;  suggested  for  presi 
dency,  241;  secretary  of  state,  246. 

Burke,  Edmund,  associate  editor  of  Union,  276;  retired,  284. 

Burr,  Aaron,  interest  in  the  West,  37. 

Burwell,  Lewis,   16. 

Butler,  A.  P.,  Calhoun  follower,  268. 

Butler,  B.  F.,  attitude  toward  negro  slavery,  172. 

Cabell,  William  H.,  life  in  Richmond,  15;  elected  governor,  32;  inter 
est  in  manufacturing,  45. 

Calhoun,  member  of  12th  Congress,  56;  proposed  for  cabinet,  57; 
opposed  Jackson's  conduct  in  Florida,  69;  nationalist,  72;  can 
didate  for  presidency,  85 ;  candidacy  unpopular,  87 ;  incurred 
enmity  of  Ritchie,  88;  again  popular  in  Virginia,  106;  favored 
alliance  between  New  York  and  Virginia,  108;  political  friends 
in  New  York  and  Virginia,  114;  accused  of  disloyalty,  114;  dis 
appointed  in  Jackson,  131;  breach  with  Jackson,  135;  urged  as 
Jackson's  successor,  137;  internal  improvement  schemes,  141; 
fathered  nullincation,  141;  efforts  to  win  West,  156;  political 
ambitions,  161 ;  aided  sectional  discord,  167 ;  supported  indepen 
dent  treasury,  199 ;  internal  improvement  schemes,  207 ;  reconciled 
to  Van  Buren,  212;  suggested  for  presidency,  227;  candidate  for 
presidency,  228;  retired  from  contest  for  presidency,  234;  neg 
lected  by  Polk,  246;  visited  Richmond,  252;  mistrusted  Polk, 
260;  opposed  occupation  of  Oregon,  261;  drove  Ritchie  from 
Senate  floor,  266 ;  repudiated  by  Va.,  269 ;  planned  to  unite  South 
and  West,  270;  strict  construction,  276. 

California,  desired  statehood,  274. 

Cambreleng,  C.  C.,  visited  the  South,  111. 

Cameron,  Simon,  hostility  to  Globe,  252. 

Campbell,  Alex.,  member  of  constitutional  convention,  121. 

ii 


Campbell,  David,  elected  governor,  185;    interest  in  education,  219. 

Cavriugton,  Col.  Edward,  16. 

Cass,  Lewis,  letter  on  nullification,  153;  suggested  for  presidency,  241; 
Texas  letter,  241;  defended  Ritchie,  202;  failures,  272;  for  non 
intervention,  278. 

Charleston  Patriot,  supported  Marshall,  80. 

Chesapeake,  attacked  by  Leopard,  42. 

Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  Co.,  chartered,  115. 

Cheves,  Landon,  member  of  12th  Congress,  56. 

Chilton,  Samuel,  a  Whig,   230. 

China,  trade  of,  277. 

Church  Hill,  home  of  Adamses,   16. 

Clay,  Henry,  influence  upon  Ritchie,  23;  at  inauguration  of  Madison, 
49;  member  of  12th  Congress,  56;  proposed  for  Cabinet,  57; 
interest  in  Spanish  America,  72;  nationalist,  72;  candidate  for 
presidency,  85;  visit  to  Richmond,  87;  a  nationalist,  88;  popu 
lar  in  Va.,  88 ;  popular  in  West,  88 ;  characteristics,  89 ;  favored 
by  Va.  for  vice  presidency,  94 ;  choice  of  Junto  for  vice-presi 
dency,  98;  breach  with  Ritchie,  99;  candidate  for  presidency,  137; 
efforts  to  win  South,  156;  unpopular  in  Va.,  157;  political  ambi 
tions,  161;  Whig  orator,  215;  opposition  to  Tyler,  223;  retired 
to  private  life,  225 ;  opposed  annexation  of  Texas,  232 ;  "Raleigh 
letter,"  237;  interest  in  internal  improvements,  270;  compromise 
of  1850,  279;  speech  on  compromise,  280;  eulogized  by  Ritchie, 
288. 

Clinton,  DeVVltt,  candidate  for  presidency,  85. 

Cohens  vs.  Virginia,  authority  in  case,  81. 

Coles,  Betsy,  letter  to  A.  Stevenson,  99. 

Compromise  of  1850,  proposed,  279;  defended  by  Clay,  280. 

Congressional  Caucus,  favored  Crawford,  91. 

Conservatives,  beginnings  of,  197;  successes  in  Va.,  202;  balance  of 
power  in  Va.,  208. 

Constitution,  spirit  of,  22. 

"Construction  Construed,"  written  by  John  Taylor,  80. 

Conventions,  Staunton,  68;  Harrisburg,  113;  Va.  constitutional  con 
vention  of  1829-30,  119;  anti-tariff  convention  of  1831,  142; 
Southern  proposed,  173;  educational,  219. 

Conventions,  political,  national  nominating  convention  proposes,  86; 
national  convention  endorsed  by  Van  Buren,  107;  Baltimore  con 
vention,  1835,  170. 

Cooke,  John  L.,  joint  editor  of  Enquirer,  118. 

Cooper,  Dr.,  teacher  of  Manchester  doctrines,  124. 

Corporal's  Guard,  223. 

Courts,  decisions  of  Federal  Supreme,  73. 

CraHe",  R.  K.,  Calhoun  protege1,  233. 

Crawford,  W.  H.,  candidate  for  presidency,  64;  nationalist,  72;  cur 
rency  report  of  1820,  76;  candidate  for  presidency,  85;  can 
didacy  nation-wide,  86;  popular  in  South,  88;  political  record, 
90 ;  caucus  nominee  for  presidency,  92 ;  followers  support 
Jackson,  117. 

iii 


Cuba,  desired  by  the  U.  S.,  71. 

Daniel,  P.  V.,  war-hawk,  57;  member  of  Junto,  139;  suggested  for 
U.  S.  Senate,  144;  on  political  conditions  in  Va.,  158;  de 
feated  for  council,  164;  accepted  independent  treasury;  criticized 
Van  Buren,  204;  supported  Van  Buren,  205;  estimates  of 
Ritchie,  206. 

Davis,  Garrett,  Whig,  264. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  strict  construction,  276. 

"Deeius,"  essays  by,  35;  commended  Jefferson,  36. 

Dessalines,  black  chieftain,  25. 

Dew,  Thomas  R.,  writing  on  negro  slavery,  167. 

Dickens,  Charles,  entertained  by  Ritchie,  294. 

Distribution   Bill,   passed,   182. 

Doddridge,  Philip,  member  of  constitutional  convention,  121. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  opposed  Ritchie  as  editor,  283. 

Dromgoole,  George  C.,  local  democratic  leader,  110,  139;  member  ol 
anti-tariff  convention,  143;  supported  Van  Buren,  205;  for 
Van  Buren,  1844,  227,  229;  loyalty  to  Van  Buren,  240. 

Duane,  attacks  Ritchie,  30,  influence  with  Madison,  56. 

"Dutch,"  in  Valley,  217. 

Eaton,    John,    influence    with    Jackson,    136. 

Eaton,  Mrs.  John,  135,  139. 

Edwards,  Ninian,  attacks  Crawford,  93. 

Elections,  presidential  of  1808,  46;  presidential  of  1816,  63;  presidential 
election  of  1820,  85;  presidential  election  of  1824,  86-88;  im 
portance  of  that  of  1828,  126;  presidential  election  of  1832,  146- 
149;  local  elections  of  1835,  169;  presidential  of  1836,  179; 
local  in  Va.,  1838,  202;  local  of  184€  in  Va.,  214;  presidential 
of  1844,  226,  242-245. 

Embargo,  proposed,  43;   repealed,  45,  55. 

Erskine,  Minister  to  U.  S.,  53;   recalled,  54. 

Essex  Junto,  reproduced  in  Va.,  27. 

Eustice,  Dr.  William,  Secretary  of  War,  60. 

Examiner,  organ  of  reform  party,  18. 

Exposition,  work  of  Calhoun,  114. 

Federalists,  defend  Burr,  38,  40;  crushed  in  Va.,  74. 

Florida,  occupation  of,  28 ;  impotency  of  Spain,  29 ;  trouble  with 
Spain,  32;  purchase  suggested,  36;  invaded,  69. 

Floyd,  John,  elected  to  Congress,  73 ;  as  a  leader,  103 ;  suggested  for 
cabinet,  127;  disappointed  in  Jackson,  131;  opposed  by  Jackson, 
134;  letter  to  Col.  John  Williams,  135;  deserted  Jackson,  135; 
comments  upon  Jackson,  136;  comments  upon  Ritchie,  138; 
forced  to  support  Jackson,  139;  comments  upon  Ritchie,  145;  com 
ments  upon  Ritchie  and  Junto,  153;  attempted  to  win  Clay, 
156;  loss  of  influence,  169. 

Foote,  Senator,  suggested  committee  of  thirteen,  281. 

iv 


Fuushee,  William,  interest  in  manufacturing,  45;  war-rawk,  57. 
France,    interest    in    Florida,    33;    attacked    American    commerce,    41; 
Berlin  decrees,  43;   reprisals  upon  commerce,   163. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  election  of  1808,  48;  for  re-charter  of  bank  of  U.  S., 
51;  cabinet  official,  57;  nominated  for  vice-presidency,  92; 
endorsed  by  Va.  for  vice-presidency,  94;  abolitionist,  238. 

Gamble,  Major  Robert,  owner  of  Gray  House,  15. 

Garland,  Hugh  A.,  editor,  201. 

Garland,  James,  Conservative  leader,  200. 

Garnett,  James  M.,  interest  in  education,  220. 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  abolitionist,  283. 

Gazette,  Federalist  organ  in  Richmond,  19. 

Genealogy,  See  Appendix. 

"General  Survey  Act,"  used  by  Adams,  115. 

Georgia,  dispute  with  Indians,  100. 

Giles,  W.  B.,  election  of  1808,  47;  opposed  for  Secretary  of  State,  50; 
war-hawk,  57 ;  retired  from  Congress,  58 ;  as  a  leader,  103 ;  at 
tempts  to  re-enter  public  life,  105 ;  message  on  federal  relations, 
113;  accused  of  disloyalty,  114;  favored  election  of  Jackson,  116; 
member  of  constitutional  convention,  121;  loss  of  influence,  169; 
opposed  right  of  instruction,  178. 

Gilmer,  Thomas  W.,  deserted  Jackson,  135;  attempted  to  displace 
Ritchie,  136;  Democrats  attempt  to  win,  201;  left  Whig  party, 
222;  member  of  ''Corporal's  Guard,"  223. 

Gladstone,    comments    upon    nature    of    our    government,    22. 

Clobe,  criticised  Stevenson,  188;   sold  to  Ritchie,  253. 

Gooch,  C.  W.,  letter  to  Van  Buren,  95;  joint  editor  of  Enquirer,  118; 
letter  to  Van  Buren  regarding  Ritchie,  122;  on  political  condi 
tions  in  Va.,  1'58. 

Goode,  Wm.  0.,  local  Democratic  leader,  111;  affiliated  with  Democrats, 
214;  nominated  for  Congress,  230,  Calhoun  supporter,  251. 

Gordon,  William  F.,  suggested  independent  Treasury,   194. 

Great  Britain,  attacked  American  commerce,  41;  industrial  conditions, 
42;  orders  in  Council,  43;  industrial  conditions,  44;  orders  in 
Council,  54;  interest  in  Florida  and  Northwest  Territory,  61; 
interest  in  Florida  and  Cuba,  71;  importations  of,  76;  interest 
in  South  America  and  Cuba,  83;  interest  in  Texas,  232,  238,  243. 

Green,  Duff,  editor,  109;  editor  of  U.  S.  Telegraph,  111;  supported 
Calhoun  for  presidency,  137;  attacked  Ritchie  and  Van  Burerj, 
144;  attempts  to  defeat  Van  Buren,  156;  aided  sectional  discord, 
167;  opposed  Blair,  251. 

Grey  House,  15. 

Gray,  Edwin,  "Quid,"   16. 

Grundy,  Felix,  member  of  12th  Congress,  56". 

Gwin,  Dr.  W.  McK.,  received  letter  from  Van  Buren,  172. 

Hammett,  W.  H.,  238. 
"H'ampden,"  letters  of,  80. 
Harrison,  George  E.,  297. 


Harrison,  Randolph,  member  of  anti-tariff  convention,  143. 

Harrison,  Gen.  W.  H.,  nominated  for  presidency,  179;  renominated  for 
presidency,  212;  abolitionist,  214;  opposed  annexation  of  Texas. 
223,  death  of  223. 

Har.vie,  John,  built  Grey  House,   15;   Revolutionary  soldier,   16. 

Hay,  George,  election  of  1808,  48;  war-hawk,  57. 

Heiss,  John  P.,  Ritchie's  associate,  252. 

Hopkins,  George  W.,  Conservative  leader,  200. 

Hunter,  R.  M.  T.,  Speaker  of  H.  of  R.,  212;  Life  of  Calhoun,  227;  de 
feated  for  re-election  to  Congress,  230;  Calhoun  supporter,  251. 

Hunter    vs.    Martin,    Virginia's    court    reversed,    80. 

Immigrations,  westward,  65;  effects  upon  East,  65  66. 

"Index,"  attacked  Jefferson,  28. 

Independent  treasury,  proposed  by  Brockenbrough,  194;  rejected  by 
Rives,  195. 

Ingham,  Samuel  D.,  favored  alliance  between  N.  Y.  and  Va.,  108. 

Internal  Improvements,  following  war  with  England,  64 ;  Chicago  con 
vention  of  1847,  270;  between  East  and  far  West,  217. 

Italy,    revolution    in,    83. 

Jackson,  General,  invasion  of  Florida,  69 ;  candidate  for  presidency,  85 ; 
endorsed  by  Penn.,  92;  Ritchie's  estimates  of,  93;  leader  of  op 
position  in  Va.,  99;  favored  by  Va.  and  N.  Y.  for  presidency, 
105;  favored  by  Va.  politicians,  111;  popular  in  western  Va., 
115;  elected  President,  117;  an  innovator,  128;  renominated, 
130;  toast  on  Federal  Union,  131;  vetoed  Maysville  Bill,  132; 
breach  with  Calhoun,  135;  forced  resignation  of  cabinet,  138; 
vetoed  Bank  Bill,  149;  re-elected  to  presidency,  149;  issued 
Proclamation,  151;  denounced  nullifiers  in  Va..  152;  censured 
by  Senate  and  protested,  159;  policy  in  dealing  with  France,  174; 
supported  independent  treasury,  199;  for  Van  Buren,  1844,  227; 
on  annexation  of  Texas,  232,  Texas  letter,  236;  friend  of  Blair, 
252. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  interest  in  founding  Enquirer,  18;  anti-salvery  senti 
ment,  25;  breach  with  Randolph,  30;  peace  policy,  33;  friend 
of  Miranda,  36;  published  writings  upon  banking,  67;  parti- 
cularist,  73;  praised  Ritchie,  81;  party  leader,  82;  Monroe  Doc 
trine,  84;  friendship  for  Adams,  98;  comments  about  the  West, 
102;  birthday  celebrated,  131;  father  of  nullification,  142;  on 
negro  slavery,  271. 

Johnson,  Cave,  hostility  to  Blair,  246;  negotiations  with  Ritchie,  247. 

Johnson,  Chapman,  member  of  constitutional  convention,  121. 

Johnson,  Richard  M.,  member  of  12th  Congress,  56;  suggested  as 
Speaker,  156;  nominated  for  vice-presidency,  171;  repudiated  by 
Va.,  180;  unpopular  in  Va.,  184;  suggested  for  presidency,  241. 

Jones,  Skelton,  editor  of  Examiner,  18. 

Kendall,   Amos,   influence  with   Jackson,    136. 
Kentucky  Reporter,  supported  Marshall,  80. 
Kerchival,    Samuel,    Jefferson's    letter    to,    68. 

ri 


King,   Rufus,   opposed  Missouri   Compromise,   78;    candidate   for   presi 
dency,   85. 
"Kitchen  Cabinet,"  beginnings  of,   112. 

Leake,  W.  D.,  candidate  for  Congress,  269. 

Leib,  Michael,   influence  with  Madison,   156. 

Leigh,  B.  W.,  resident  of,  16;  attack  upon  Nicholas,  47;  member  of 
constitutional  convention,  121 ;  elected  to  Federal  Senate,  157  ^ 
re-elected  to  Senate,  159,  164;  suggested  for  vice  prsidency, 
162;  attempts  to  drive  him  from  the  Senate,  162;  driven  from 
Senate,  178. 

Letcher,  John,  friend  of  McDowell,  229. 

Lewis,  Joseph,  Federalist,  56. 

Lewis,  William  B.,  influence  with  Jackson,  136. 

Liancourt,  Duke  de  La  Rochefoucauld,  description  of  Richmond,  13. 

Livingston,    Edward,   author    of    Proclamation,    151. 

Louisiana  purchase,  political  issue,  28;  exchanged  for  Florida,  36. 

Lyons,  James,  Texas  Whig,  251. 

Lowndes,  Wm.,   candidate  for   presidency,   185. 

McClurg,  Dr.  James  B.,  16. 

McDonald,   Angus,   245. 

McDowell,  James,  favored  Special  Circular,  192;  supported  Van  Buren, 
205;  leader  of  Va.  Democracy,  210;  suggested  for  governorship, 
211;  suggested  for  U.  S.  Senate,  212;  abolitionist,  214;  supported 
for  presidency  in  1844,  227;  candidate  for  governor,  229. 

McDufiie,  George,  visited  Richmond,   111. 

McRea,  Alex.,  16. 

Macon.  N.,  friend  of  Randolph,  31;   for  war  with  Spain,  32;   interest 

in  Burr,  37 ;   author  of  "Macon  Bills,"  55. 
Madison,   James,  candidate   for   presidency,   31;    candidacy   effected   by 

local  conditions  in  Va.,  34;  nominated  for  presidency  by  "Va.,  47; 

adhered  to  peace  policy,  53;   particularist,  73;   Monroe  Doctrine. 

84;  elector  on  Adams  ticket,  116;  member  of  constitutional  con 
vention,  121. 

Madisonian,  Conservative  Organ,  197;  Tyler  Organ,  225. 
Mann,   Horace,  educator,   12. 
Manufacturers,  protected  by  tariff,  44. 
Marcey,  W.  L.,  Secretary  of  War,  260. 
Marshall,  John,  relations  with  Ritchie,   17;   dined  with   Burr,  40;    the 

Burr  trial,  41;   political  activity,  116;   member  of  constitutional 

convention,   121. 

Maryland,  interest  in  internal  improvements,  64. 
Mason,  J.  M.,  conservative  leader,  200;  deserted  Rives,  206. 
Mason,    John    Y.,    local    Democratic   leader,  .110;    suggested    for    U.    S 

Senate,  213. 

Masons,  political   party,    116. 
Maysville  Bill,  vetoed,  132. 
Meade,  R.  K.,  attacks  upon  Ritchie,  283. 


Mercer,  C.  F.,  opposed  war  with  Great  Britain,  42 ;  member  of  con 
stitutional  convention,  121. 

Methodist  Church,  dismembered,  259. 

Mexico,   revolution   in,   71,   83,    129. 

Miranda,  General,  leader  of  Spanish  patriots,  36. 

Missouri,  admission  of,  77-79;  negro  slavery  in,  85. 

Monroe   Doctrine,    suggested,    36. 

Monroe,  James,  candidate  of  the  Quid  party,  91 ;  treaty  with  Great 
Britain,  42;  nominated  for  presidency  by  Va.,  47;  elected  to 
presidency  in  1816,  63;  particularist,  73;  re-election  and  Mis 
souri  Compromise,  79;  veto  of  1822  and  "Views,"  82;  message  on 
South  America,  83;  elector  on  Adams  ticket,  116;  member  of  con 
stitutional  convention,  121. 

Moore,  Bishop,  16. 

Morgan,  W.  S.%  conservative  leader,  200. 

Nashville  Convention,  ultimatum,  282. 

Napoleon,  banishment  to  Elba,  60;   returns  from  Elba,  62. 

Nationalism,  effect  upon  the  West,  68. 

National  Intelligencer,  organ  of  Jeffersonian  party,  19;  favored  Mo. 
Compromise,  79 ;  supported  Marshall,  80 ;  parties  in  Va.,  82 ;  sup 
ported  Monroe,  85;  favored  Clay  for  vice-presidency,  95;  com 
ments  upon  Ritchie,  113;  on  nullification,  114;  opposed  annexa 
tion  of  Texas,  130. 

Negro  slavery,  reaction  against  abolition  of,  25 ;  fight  for  extension 
Missouri,  77;  defended  by  South,  100;  abolition  opposed  by 
Ritchie,  120;  discussed  in  Congress,  164;  in  District  of  Columbia, 
176;  agitation  revived,  259;  westward  extension,  270;  attempt 
to  exclude  from  D.  of  C.,  274;  fugitive  slaves,  279. 

New  England,  opposed  embargo,  46;  opposed  war  of  1812,  62. 

New  York,  activity  in  internal  improvements,  64 ;  political  relations  with 
the  South,  85;  with  Va.,  87;  political  ally  of  Va.,  107;  effect  of 
alliance  with  Va.,  169;  opposed  Rives  for  vice-presidency,  171; 
differences  on  slavery,  222. 

Nicholas,  Judge  P.  N.,  resident  of  16;  war-hawk,  57;  bank  director,  72; 
letter  to  Van  Buren,  106. 

Nicholas,  W.  C.,  part  in  election  of  1808,  47 ;  bank  director,  72. 

Niles,  Hezekiah,  comments  upon  Va.,  105.  , 

Nullification,  fathered  by  Calhoun,  124;  activity  of  leaders,  131.  133; 
aided  by  Tariff  Bill  of  1832,  149;  ordinance  adopted,  150. 

Ohio,  taxed  U.  S.  bank,  75. 

Oregon,  territory  of,  83;  claims  to,  261;  attitude  of  North  toward,  273. 

Orr,  James  L.,  attacked  Ritchie,  285. 

Panama  canal,  proposed,  72,  277. 
Panama  Congress,  proposed,  100. 
Panics,  causes  of  ,  1819,  77 ;  causes  of,  1837,  193. 


viii 


Park,   John,  editor,  46. 

Parker,  R.  E.,  accused  of  disloyalty,  114;  member  of  Junto,  139;  sup 
ported  Van  Buren  for  vice-presidency,  145;  letter  to  Van  Buren, 
183;  elected  to  Senate,  185;  accepted  independnt  treasury,  195; 
"gum-shoe"  politician,  201;  criticized  Van  Buren,  204;  sup 
ported  Van  Buren,  205. 

Particularism,  reaction  toward,  72. 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  author  of  the  "Danger  Not  Over,"  23 ;  essay 
republished  in  Enquirer,  125. 

Pennsylvania,  interest  in  internal  improvements,  64;  supported  Cal- 
houn  for  presidency,  85;  deserted  Calhoun,  92;  renominated 
Jackson,  130.  z 

Phillips,  Wendell,  abolitionist,  283. 

Pinkney,  William,  Minister  to  England,  54. 

Pitt,  William,  influence  on  neutral  commerce,  33. 

Pleasants,  John  Hampden,  editor  of  Lynchburg  Virginian,  90;  wrote 
Ritchie's  obituary,  95 ;  efforts  to  overthrow  Ritchie,  103 ;  leader 
of  Whig  press,  162;  opposition  leader,  192;  comments  upon  Sua- 
bian  Dutch,"  217;;  killed  in  duel,  298. 

Pleasants,  James,  popular  in  Va.,  116. 

Pleasants,    Samuel,   war-hawk,   57. 

Poinsett,  J.  R.,  report  on  militia,  214. 

Political  Parties,  origin  of  National-Republican  and  National-Demo 
cratic,  83;  Whig  party  formed,  155;  Conservatives,  197. 

Polk,  James  K.,  suggested  for  vice-presidency,  235;  nominated  for 
presidency,  242;  elected,  245;  defended  Ritchie,  262,  273;  mes 
sage  of  1848,  274. 

Porter,    Peter    B.,   member    of    12th    Congress,    56. 

Press,  freedom  of,  166;  effected  by  public  printing,  265;  tone  of,  ele- 
vaied  by  Ritchie,  293. 

Printing,  public,  job  printing,  264. 

Proclamation,  151. 

Prussia,  educational  system,  220. 

Public  lands,  speculation  in,  65;  sales  of,  182. 

"Quids,"  party  of  discontent,  31;  principles  of,  35;  defend  Burr,  39. 

Randolph,  John,  anti-slavery  sentiment,  25;  opposed  Yazoo  claims,  30; 
attacked  Madison,  31;  for  war  with  Spain,  32;  opposed  peace 
policy,  33 ;  speech  on  Gregg's  resolution,  34 ;  alliance  with  Fed 
eralists,  35;  author  of  "Decius,"  35;  interest  in  Burr,  37;  op 
posed  non-intercourse  act,  42;  opposed  embargo,  43;  "Constant 
Reader,"  48;  opposed  war  with  England,  58;  apostle  of  repub 
licanism,  73;  elected  to  U.  S.  Senate,  103;  power  as  opposition 
leader,  105;  member  of  constitutional  convention,  121;  seces 
sionist,  124;  minister  to  Russia,  129;  endorsed  Van  Buren  for 
vice-presidency,  144;  supported  Van  Buren  for  vice-presidency, 
145;  first  suggested  independent  treasury,  194. 

Randolph,  Peyton,  interest  in  manufacturing,  45;    war-hawk,  57. 

Randolph,  Thomas  Jefferson,  favored  Specie  Circular  ,192;  entertained 
Van  Buren,  204;  supported  Van  Buren,  205;  for  Van  Buren, 
1844,  227. 

ix 


"Republican  Blues,"  43. 

Resolutions  of  98,  authorship,  50;  interest  of  nullifiers  in,  134. 

Rhett,   B.   H.,  visited   Richmond,   231;    disloyal,   283. 

Richmond,  in  1800,  13;  social  and  intellectual  center,  14;  political  and 
social  life,  17;  Federalist  stronghold,  17;  fondness  for  disi- 
tinction  and  rank,  17;  Wirt's  comments  upon  Richmond,  17; 
aided  Miranda,  36;  in  campaign  of  1840,  216;  educational  conven 
tion,  220;  captured  by  Democrats,  251. 

Richmond  Compiler,  founded,  63. 

Richmond  Enquirer,  founded,  19;  Jeffersonian  organ  in  Va.,  19;  ac 
count  of  Burr  trial,  40;  increased  its  influence,  121;  Conserva 
tive  organ,  199. 

Richmond  Junto,  distribution  of  spoils,  82;  political  factor,  90;  loyalty 
to  Crawford,  94;  power  in  Va.,  156;  repudiated  Van  Buren,  238. 

Ritchie,  Archibald,  Scotch  merchantman,  9;  a  tory,  10;  member  of 
Committee  of  Public  Safety,  10. 

Ritchie,    Archibald,    military    service,    59. 

Ritchie,  John,  killed  at  Bridgewater,  59. 

Ritchie,  Thomas,  Jr.,  joint  editor  of  Enquirer,  230. 

Ritchie,  William  F.,  joint  editor  of  Enquirer,  230;  delegate  to  Balti 
more  Convention,  1844,  242. 

Ritchie,  Thomas,  born,  9;  maternal  influence  ,  10;  relatives  and  con 
nections,  11;  education,  11;  became  a  teacher,  12;  bookseller,  12; 
relations  with  Justice  Marshall,  17;  founded  Enquirer,  19; 
principles  and  influenced  a-s  an  editor,  20;  strict  constructionist, 
22 ;  influence  of  Madison  and  Pendleton,  22 ;  anti-slavery  move 
ment,  25;  foreign  slave-trade,  26;  interest  in  banks,  27;  Louis 
iana  purchase,  29;  Yazoo  claims,  30;  failure  to  win  the  Quids, 
31;  defeated  for  public  printer,  32;  for  war  with  Spain,  32; 
deserted  Randolph,  34;  defended  peace  ragine,  35;  mistrusted 
Miranda,  37 ;  confidence  in  Burr,  37 ;  deceived  in  Burr,  39 ;  wrote 
"Cursory  Reflections,"  41;  criticized  Marshall,  61;  defended  em 
bargo,  43;  for  protection,  44;  desired  war  with  England,  45;  op 
posed  disunion,  46;  defense  of  Union,  46;  election  of  1808, 
46;  attacked  John  Taylor  of  Caroline,  49;  for  war  with  Great 
Britain,  53;  interest  in  Congressional  election  of  1812;  early 
friendship  for  Calhoun,  56 ;  favored  war  with  England,  57 ;  a 
soldier,  59;  part  in  the  war  of  1812,  59;  opposed  peace,  60-61; 
spokesman  of  the  new  era,  61-62;  friend  of  internal  improve 
ments,  64;  attitude  toward  West,  65;  opposed  state  banks,  67; 
opposed  Jackson  in  Florida,  69 ;  opposed  war  with  Spain,  70  ; 
favored  independence  of  Spanish  America,  71 ;  acquiesced  in 
nationalism,  72;  a  particularist,  73;  attacked  bank  of  U.  S... 
74;  opposed  tariff,  76;  opposed  Missouri  Compromise,  77;  com 
mends  Roane,  80;  comments  upon  "Construction  Construed,"  81; 
party  leader,  82;  on  occupation  of  Cuba,  83;  espoused  cause  of 
Greek's,  84;  suggested  Monroe  Doctrine,  84;  endorsed  Monroe 
Doctrine,  84;  opposed  re-election  of  Monroe,  85;  supported 
Crawford,  86;  friendship  for  Clay,  87;  comments  upon  candidates, 
1824,  89;  member  of  Junto,  90-91;  comments  upon  caucuses,  92; 
estimates  of  Jackson,  93;  Calhoun's  political  enemy,  93;  loyalty 
to  Crawford,  94-98;  concedes  Jackson's  election,  1824,  95;  political 
obituary,  96;  breach  with  Clay,  99;  comment's  upon  abolition, 
100;  favored  internal  improvements  and  schools,  100  101;  repudia- 


ated  Adams,  100-102;  letter  to  A.  Ritchie  on  political  condition 
in  Va.,  104 ;  comments  on»  Federal  relations,  105 ;  reluctance  to 
accept  Jackson,  106;  refused  editorship  of  National  Organ,  108; 
lost  an  opportunity  for  service,  110;  loyalty  to  N.  Y.,  112; 
hostility  to  Clay,  112;  concedes  legality  of  tariff,  113;  visited 
Albany,  113;  opposed  nullifiers,  114;  witnessed  Jackson's  inau 
guration,  117;  spokesman  of  Jacksonian  democrats,  118;  champion 
of  local  reform,  119;  Gooch's  opinion  of,  122;  strengthened  by 
constitutional  convention  of  182930,  123;  opposed  nullification, 
124,  134;  distrust  of  Jackson,  125;  devoted  to  Va.,  125;  advice  to 
Jackson,  126;  confidence  in  Van  Buren,  127;  condemned  office- 
seekers,  128;  for  annexation  of  Texas,  130;  for  Jackson's  re 
election,  131;  comments  on  Maysville  veto,  132;  comments  on 
West  India  trade,  133;  successful  Democratic  leader,  139;  de 
sired  retirement  of  Van  Buren  from  cabinet,  139;  internal  im 
provements,  141 ;  denounced  Calhoun  and  nullification,  141 ;  op 
posed  Clay  Compromises,  143;  endorsed  Van  Buren  for  vice- 
presidency,  144;  suggested  for  Minister  to  England,  144;  at 
tacked  Duff  Green,  144;  supported  Van  Buren  for  vice-presi 
dency,  145;  political  leader,  146;  confidence  in  Van  Buren,  148; 
comments  on  South  Carolina,  150;  as  a  conciliator,  150;  accepted 
Proclamation,  152;  attempts  to  destroy  influence  of,  152;  devo 
tion  to  Union,  153;  comments  on  ^Vhigh  party,  155;  efforts  to 
remove  as  public  printer,  157;  on  political  conditions  in  Va., 
158;  political  activity  and  defeat,  159;  comments  upon  election 
of  1834,  160;  comments  upon  Whig  party,  160;  concern  about 
Jackson,  163;  defeated  for  public  printer,  164;  minority  leader, 
164;  favored  gradual  abolition,  165;  called  an  abolitionist,  167; 
"corrupt  bargain,"  with  Van  Buren,  169;  political  arbiter,  169; 
comments  on  Rives'  candidacy  for  vice-presidency,  170;  opposed 
Southern  convention  in  1835,  173;  placed  party  success  before 
sectional  interests,  173;  efforts  to  control  Jackson,  174;  re- 
elected  public  printer,  174;  moderation  in  dealing  with  aboli 
tionists,  and  love  of  Union,  176;  opposed  increase  of  state 
banks,  177;  for  independence  and  annexation  of  Texas,  181;  op 
posed  distribution  of  land  sales,  182;  interest  in  election  of 
1836,  183;  mentioned  for  governor,  183;  commended  by  Van 
Buren,  184;  denounced  abolitionists,  184;  at  height  of  power, 
185;  letter  to  B.  F.  Butler  regarding  Stevenson,  188;  defended 
credit  system  and  state  banks,  191;  panic  of  1837,  193;  rejected 
independent  treasury,  196;  proposed  banker's  convention,  197; 
letter  to  Van  Buren  on  independent  treasury,  198;  continued 
opposition  to  Calhoun,  199;  proposed  Special  Deposit  System, 
200;  letter  to  Rives,  200;  supported  Rives,  200;  supported  Van 
Buren,  202 ;  responsible  for  victory  of  Conservatives,  203 ;  letter 
to  Van  Buren,  203;  pled  for  compromise,  205;  underestimated 
popularity  of  independent  treasury,  205;  deserted  Rives,  206; 
as  described  by  Daniel,  206;  opposed  Calhoun's  internal  improve 
ment  policies,  207;  opposed  "free  banking,"  208;  renewed  loyalty 
to  Democrats,  210;  efforts  to  redeem  Va.  from  Whigs,  210; 
political  abilities  acknowledged,  211;  declaration  for  inde- 
pende>t  treasury,  212;  abolitionist,  214;  political  activity  in 
1840,  215;  edited  The  Crisis,  215;  political  leader,  217;  interest 
in  education,  219;  pro-slavery  advocate,  222;  praised  Tyler's 
vetoes,  224;  defended  the  Virginia  doctrines,  225;  county  named 
for,  226 ;  denounced  by  friends  of  Calhoun,  230 ;  supported  Van 
Buren,  230;  attempted  to  prevent  Texas  from  becoming  a  poli- 

xi 


tical  issue,  233;  letter  to  Wright  regarding  Texas,  23(5;  pub 
lished  Jackson's  Texas  letter,  236 ;  an  expanionist,  238 ;  letter 
to  Van  Buren,  239;  favored  Cass  for  presidency,  241;  raised 
"Polk  and  Texas"  cry,  243;  a  miniature  Talleyrand,  243;  owned 
Texas  lands,  244;  comments  on  campaign  of  1844,  244;  devotion 
to  Va.,  246 ;  suggested  for  national  spokesman,  247 ;  letter  to 
Gen.  Bayly,  247 ;  refused  to  leave  Richmond,  249 ;  on  annexation 
of  Texas,  250;  war  upon  Whigs,  250;  lukewarm  on  secession,  251; 
editor  of  Democratic  organ,  253;  established  Union,  253;  on  the 
tariff.  255 ;  farewell  to  Va.,  255 ;  opportunities  in  Washington, 
258;  difficulties,  258;  comments  on  negro  slavery.  259;  a  con 
ciliator,  260;  visited  Blair,  250;  offended  South,  260;  on  occupa 
tion  of  Oregon,  260;  difficulties  as  national  editor,  261;  reply  to 
London  Times,  262 ;  made  new  enemies,  263 ;  influence  upon  press, 
265;  efforts  to  depose,  265;  attacked  U.  S.  Senate,  268;  interest 
in  internal  improvements,  270;  readmitted  to  floor  of  Senate, 
271;  Wilmot  Proviso,  271;  publicity  mania,  273;  for  extension  of 
Missouri  Compromise  line,  274;  adhered  to  conservatism,  275; 
spokesman  of  border  section,  275;  Garrison  and  enigma,  276; 
interest  in  Chinese  trade,  277 ;  changed  views  on  internal  im 
provement,  277 ;  internal  improvement  schemes,  278 ;  endorsed 
non-intervention,  278;  considered  pro-southern,  279;  disap 
pointed  "fire-eaters"  and  "fanatics,"  280;  praised  Clay,  280; 
supported  Compromise  of  1850,  281;  conference  with  Clay,  281; 
praised  Webster,  282 ;  condemned  Nashville  Convention,  282 ; 
placed  party  above  sectional  interest,  283;  loyalty  to  South, 
284;  petitioned  Congress  for  relief,  284;  financial  failures,  285; 
vindicated  by  Congress,  285 ;  retired,  286 ;  editorial  farewell, 
286;  eulogized  Clay,  288;  claims  to  distinction,  290;  not  a  poli 
tical  boss,  291;  as  a  great  editor,  292;  influence  upon  editors, 
294;  entertained  Dickens,  294;  a  stoic,  295;  financial  failures, 
296;  marriage,  296;  children  and  descendants,  296  (see  also 
appendix);  death,  299;  will,  299. 

Rives,  John  C.,  retired  from  Globe,  255;   comments  upon  Ritchie,  268. 

Rives,  W.  C.,  local  Democratic  leader,  110;  minister  to  France,  129; 
suggested  for  governor,  144;  elected  to  U.  S.  Senate,  152;  retired 
from  Senate,  157;  candidate  for  vice-presidency,  170;  re-elected 
to  Senate,  178;  endorsed  Van  Buren  for  presidency,  180;  leader 
of  Conservatives,  187;  popular  in  Va.,  192;  "Little  Expunger," 
192;  author  of  essays  by  "Camillus,"  197;  prevented  from  be 
coming  Whig,  201;  entertained  Van  Buren,  204;  underestimated 
popularity  of  independent  treasury,  205;  adhered  to  Conserva 
tives,  207 ;  Conservative  candidate  for  Senate,  209 ;  deserted 
Ritchie,  210;  suggested  for  governor,  211;  affiliated  with  Whigs, 
213;  Whig  orator,  interest  in  agriculture,  221. 

Roane,  Spencer,  lawyer,  11;  influence  upon  Ritchie,  23;  president  of 
Va.  Court  of  Appeals,  27;  for  war  with  Great  Britain,  43;  war- 
hawk,  57 ;  wrote  letters  of  "Algernon  Sydney,"  69 ;  influence  upon 
Ritchie,  70;  president  of  Va.  Court  of  Appeals,  73;  death  of,. 
73;  opposed  bank  of  U.  S.,  75;  as  "Hampden,"  80;  party  leader, 
82;  influence  on  National-Democratic  party,  83. 

Roane,  William  H.,  member  of  anti-tariff  convention,  143 ;  leader  of 
Van  Buren  forces,  146;  elected  to  Senate,  185;  for  Van  Buren, 
1844;  228;  letter  on  Texas,  233;  opposed  annexation  of  Texas, 
237;  letter  to  Van  Buren,  238. 


Robinson,   Oonway,    16. 

Ruffin,  Edmund,  editor  of  Farmer's  Register,  221;   editor  of  Southern 

Magazine,  222. 

Russia,  encroachment  upon  Northwest,  83. 
Rutherford,    Thomas,    bank    director,    72;    on    political    conditions    in 

Va.,    158. 

San  Domingo,  insurrection  in,  25. 

Santa  Anna,  Gen.,  planned  to  invade  U.  S.,  181. 

Scott,  Gen.  W.  S.,  suggested  for  presidency,  213. 

Scott,  William,  decision  on  neutral  carriers,  33. 

Sectionalism,  factor   in  elections,   85. 

Seddon,    James    A.,    Calhoun    leader,    229;    Calhoun    supporter,    251; 

friend  of  Calhoun,   269. 

Sergeant,  John,  candidate  for  vice  presidency,  146. 
Sevier,  Sen.  A.  H.,  defended  Ritchie,  267. 
S'eward,  W.  H.,  Governor  of  N.  Y.,  200;  refused  to  extradite  fugitives, 

222. 

Sueffey,  Daniel,  Federalist,  56. 
Shepherd,   Samuel,  elected  public  printer,   164. 
Smionton,  J.  W.,  intermediary  between  Clay  and  Ritchie,  281. 
Shockoe  Hill,  social  centar,  and  seat  oi  Richmond  Junto,  15. 
Slave-trade,  prohibited,  26. 
Smith,  Adam,  influence  upon  Ritchie,  20,  75. 
Smith,  George  William,  16. 
Smith,  Robert,  influence  with  Madison,  56. 

Smith,  William,  supported  by  Va.,  for  vice-presidency  in   1836,  184. 
Smith,   William    (Extra    Billy),   defeated   for   Congress,   23-;    Calhoun 

supporter,  251. 

Smyth,  Gen.,  Adams'  letter  to,  89. 
South  Carolina,  pro-slavery,  26;   opposed  tariff  of   1828,   114;    opposed 

tariff   of    1828,    130;    Union    Party,    150;    efforts   to   detach   Va. 

from  N.  Y.,  231. 
Spain,   interest   in    Louisiana,   29 ;    violates    treaty,    69 ;    delay    in    sale 

of  Florida,  70;   revolt  of  American  colonies,  71;    revolution   in, 

83. 

Spanish  Association,  exposed,  38. 
Special  Deposit  System,  suggested  by  Ritchie,  200. 
Specie  Circular,   187;   efforts  to  repeal,   193. 
Stone,  Robert  King,  297. 
Stevenson,   Andrew,    director    in   branch   bank   of   Bank   of   U.    S.,    72 ; 

elected  to  speakership,  113;  accused  of  disloyalty,  114;  endorsed 

Van  Buren,  139;  supported  Van  Buren  for  vice  presidency,  145; 

leader    in    Baltimore   Convention   of    1835,    171;    comments   upon 

Bank   of   U.    S.,    187;    candidate   for   vice-presidency,   210,    212; 

returned    from    Court    of    St.    James,    228;    suggested    for    vice- 
presidency,  228;  suggested  for  cabinet,  246. 

Summers,  Judge  Lewis,   member   of   constitutional   convention,    121. 
Sydney,  Algernon,  letters  of,  69;  nom-de-plume  of  Spencer  Roane,  70. 

xiii 


Tappahannock,  commercial   center,   11. 

Tallmadge,  N.  P.,  leader  of  Conservatives,  187;  opposed  independent 
treasury,  195;  nominated  for  vice-presidency,  211. 

Tariff,  desired  in  1808,  44;  opposed  by  particularists,  76;  "Bill  of 
Abominations,"  114;  declared  unconstitutional,  131;  Clay  Com 
promise,  143;  opposition  to  injured  Va.,  207;  issue  in  1844,  244; 
of  1846,  263. 

Taylor,  Col.  John,  part  in  election  of  1808,  49;  opinions  of  Ritchie,  50; 
knowledge  of  Federalist,  51;  attacks  new  nationalism,  51;  a 
particularist,  73;  author  of  "construction  Construed,"  81;  party 
leader,  82;  influence  on  National-Democratic  party,  83;  pro 
posed  amendment  to  constitution,  85;  in  election  of  1824,  89. 

Taylor,  W.  P.,  a  Democrat,  214. 

Tazewell,  L.  W.,  candidate  for  Federal  senate,  95;  communication  of 
1827  with  Ritchie,  108;  member  of  constitutional  convention, 
121;  suggested  for  cabinet,  127;  proposed  for  Minister  to  Eng 
land,  129;  disappointed  in  Jackson,  131;  opposed  by  Jackson, 
134;  deserted  Jackson,  135;  forced  to  support  Jackson,  139; 
elected  governor,  158;  loss  of  influence,  169;  message  of 
1835  to  Assembly,  175;  opposed  right  of  instruction,  178. 

"Ten  Regiment  Bill,"  defeated,  266. 

Tenth  Legion,  location,  183;  praised  by  Ritchie,  216,  245. 

Texas,  annexation  proposed,  129;  annexation  desired,  180,  222;  political 
issue  in  1843,  229;  national  issue,  232;  treaty  of  anexation  re 
jected,  243;  annexed,  250. 

Tidewater,  became  Democratic,  226. 

Toombs,  Robert,  disloyal,  282. 

Troup,  George  M.,  member  of  12th  Congress,  56. 

Tucker,  Henry  St.  George,  a  nationalist,  103. 

Turner,   "Nat,"  leader  of  insurrection,   165. 

Turney,  Sen.  H.  L.,  defended  Ritchie,  267. 

Tyler,  John,  elected  to  Congress,  73;  elected  to  U.  S.  Senate,  106; 
friendship  for  Clay,  111;  favored  election  of  Jackson,  116;  mem 
ber  of  Constitutional  Convention,  121;  deserted  Jackson,  135; 
forced  to  support  Jackson,  139;  elected  to  U.  S.  Senate,  152; 
letter  to  Floyd,  155;  suggested  for  vice-presidency,  162;  driven 
from  Senate,  178;  nominated  for  vice-pre.sidency,  179;  attempts 
of  Democrats  to  win,  201;  nominated  for  vice-presidency,  212; 
President,  223 ;  first  message,  224 ;  strengthened  Democrats,  220 ; 
interest  in  Texas,  232. 

•  Union  (Washington),  established,  253;  prospectus  of  Union,  254;  pro- 
slavery  organ,  271. 

Upshur,  Abel  P.,  member  of  constitutional  convention  of  1829-30,  121; 
Democrats  attempt  to  win,  201 ;  left  Whig  party,  222 ;  member  of 
''Corporal's  Guard,"  223;  interest  in  Texas,  232;  death  of,  241. 

Van  Buren,  John,  abolitionist,  283. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  use  of  federal  patronage,  85;  a  political  organ 
izer,  105;  father  of  alliance  between  N.  Y.  and  Va.,  107;  visited 
the  South,  111;  influence  with  Jackson,  128,  136;  rejected  as 
Minister  to  England,  145;  candidate  for  vice-presidency,  145; 


opinions  on  negro  slavery.  168;  popular  in  western  Va.,  1G9; 
accepted  by  Va.  for  presidency,  109;  visited  Rives,  172;  un 
popular  in  South,  173;  opposed  annexation  of  Texas,  181; 
praised  Ritchie,  184;  accepted  independent  treasury,  194;  visited 
Va.,  204;  free  negro  vote,  214;  popular  in  Va.  in  1844,  231; 
opposed  annexation  of  Texas,  232;  non-committal  upon  Texas, 
235;  letter  on  Texas,  237;  repudiated  by  Va.,  239;  friend  of 
Blair,  252;  suggested  for  presidency  in  1848,  208;  interest  in 
internal  improvements,  270. 

Van  Lew,  Elizabeth,  northern  spy,  16. 

"Vindicator,"  article  in  Union,  266. 

Virginia,  unequal  distribution  of  property  in,  18;  Federalism,  18; 
anti  slavery,  25;  German  and  Irish  elements  in,  31;  war  senti 
ment  in,  43;  declined  in  political  power,  50;  war  of  1812,  57; 
conservative  banking  policy,  66-67;  "Virginia  Party,"  73;  doc 
trines  of,  82,  102;  repudiates  Adams,  99; /lacked  leaders,  103; 
political  ally  of  N.  Y.,  107;  political  link,  110;  dependence 
upon  N.  Y.,  Ill;  opposed  nullification,  115;  opposed  tariff  of 
1828,  130;  supported  re-election  of  Jackson,  137;  became  devoted 
to  Jackson,  139;  leader  in  anti-tariff  Convention  of  1831,  143; 
confidence  in  Van  Buren,  148;  resented  Proclamation,  152; 
opposed  Jackson's  war  on  bank,  157;  effect  of  alliance  with 
N.  Y.,  169,  172;  repudiated  R.  M.  Johnson,  180,  184;  interest  in 
state  banks,  191 ;  opposed  independent  treasury,  and  specie  cir 
cular,  197;  repudiated  independent  treasury,  202;  differ 
ences  on  slavery,  222 ;  won  for  Van  Buren,  234 ;  voted  for  Polk, 
245;  under  Democratic  control,  250. 

Virginian    (Lynchburg),   supported  Adams,  82. 

Walker,  R.  J.,  letter  on  Texas,  235;   hostility  to  Blair,  246;   political 

manager,  252. 
War  of   1812,  beginnings,  57;    declared,  58;   opposition  to,  59;    treaty 

ending,  61. 
"War  hawks,"  56. 

Washington,  George,  anti-slavery  sentiment,  25. 
Webb,  J.  Watson,  named  Whig  party,  157. 
Webster,    Daniel,    candidate    for    presidency,    179;    whig    orator,    215; 

visited  Richmond,  216. 
Weed,  Thurlow,  political  activity,  116. 
West,  Burr  expedition  to,  37;  conspiracies  in,  38. 
Westcott,  James  D.  Calhoun  follower,  268. 
Western  World,  Kentucky  newspaper,  38. 
West  Indies,  trade  of,  26;  revival  of  interest  in,  133. 
Whigs,  party  formed,   155;   named,  157;  victories  in  Va.,  159;   nature 

of,  160;   friendship  for  state  banks,  177;   "impracticables,"  208; 

Staunton  Convention,  211;    "Ritchie  Whigs,"  212;    campaign  of 

1840,   215;    condemned  Tyler,   224;    controlled  Assembly   of  Va., 

224;    "Ritchie  Whigs,"   227;    strength   in  Va.,  244;    Va.   Whigs 

opposed  annexation  of  Texas,  249. 

White,   Judge   Hugh    L.,   candidate   for   presidency,    168,    179. 
Wickham,  John,  Burr's  counsel,  40. 
Wilkinson,  General,  meeting  with  Burr,  37;  defended  by  Ritchie,  39. 

xv 


Williams,  Col.  John.  Floyd's  leiter  to,  135. 

Wilmont,  David,  attacked  Ritchie,  271. 

Wilniont  Proviso,  proposed.  271;  supported  by  North,  274;  condemned 
by  Va.,  2/9;  endorsed  by  North,  279. 

Wilson,  Thomas,  Federalist.  50. 

Wise,  Henry  A,,  Democrats  attempt  to  win.  201 ;  left  Whig  party, 
222;  member  of  "Corporal  Guard,"  223;  influence  with  Tyler. 
235;  Calhoun  supporter,  251. 

Wirt,  William,  life  in  Richmond.  15;  author  of  "Letters  of  the  British 
Spy,"  15;  interest  in  manufacturing,  45;  war-hawk.  57. 

Wright,  Silas,  letter  to  Ritchie,  168;  comment  upon  Virginia'?  politi 
cians,  171;  visited  Richmond.  202;  suggested  for  vie*  .uency, 
227 ;  opposed  annexation  of  Texas.  237 ;  suggt  -  Aor  presi 
dency,  241;  declined  Cabinet  position,  247;  aiments  upon 
Ritchie,  267;  interest  in  internal  improvements,  270. 

Yancey,  W.  L.,  disgusted  with  Ritchie,  264;  disloyal,  282. 

Yazoo  frauds,  political  issue,  28. 

Yulee,  David  L.,  follower  of  Calhoun,  266,  268. 


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